NHS in England needs new strategy to avoid £30bn shortfall, say health chiefs

The NHS in England could face a funding shortfall of £30bn (€35bn; $45bn) by 2020 if services are not restructured, health chiefs have warned.

They have called for an “honest and realistic” debate with the public and politicians about how the NHS can meet the demands of an ageing population, new technology, and patients’ expectations.

David Nicholson, chief executive of NHS England (formerly the NHS Commissioning Board), said that meeting the increasing demands by reducing or charging for services was not the answer. “That is not the ethos of the NHS, and I am clear that our future must be about changing, not charging,” he said.

“To do so we must make bold, clinically led changes to how NHS services are delivered over the next …