The Health Foundation responds to the government's 10 Year Capital Plan

Responding to the government’s 10 Year Capital Plan, Tim Gardner, Deputy Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, said: 

‘Today’s announcement is a long-overdue step towards providing the NHS with a clear national strategy to support long-term transformation and prioritise patient care. But, there are no shortcuts to addressing the challenges facing the health service. 

‘Years of underinvestment in buildings, equipment and technology have contributed to increasing problems in delivering patient care. Hospital buildings are crumbling, with the latest figures showing the backlog maintenance stands at £15.9 billion, of which £3.5 billion is considered high risk. Recent investment in IT infrastructure is encouraging, but adoption remains piecemeal. NHS productivity has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels and faces an uphill climb to meet its ambitious 2% annual target.

‘Investment in GP premises is welcome. But buildings alone will not deliver the government’s ambition to provide more care closer to home. There are still fewer fully qualified GPs per head of population than a decade ago, and general practice receives a smaller share of NHS spending than it did 10 years ago. 

‘The government must ensure that capital funding is allocated transparently and targeted where need is greatest. That means prioritising safety-critical repairs, modernising digital infrastructure, investing beyond hospitals into primary and community care, including the workforce needed to deliver transformed services, and ensuring every pound delivers better value for patients and the public.’

Media contact

Nadine Sheikh-Sobeh
Nadine.sheikh-sobeh@health.org.uk
020 8152 8120