Promises to shift care from hospitals to community have not been matched by transfer of spending, analysis finds

Repeated promises by successive governments to move more care and health resources from hospitals to the community are not being met because funding has not been distributed evenly, health experts have claimed.

An analysis1 by the health think tank the Nuffield Trust into recent healthcare spending in England shows an increase spent on the likes of acute care, primary care, and ambulances but stagnation on community healthcare service spending and cuts to other NHS services.

From 2013-14 to 2023-24 NHS expenditure in England grew on average by 3.1% a year in real terms, but it is less clear how these funding increases were shared between different frontline NHS services.

To understand more the think …