Poorest areas to get extra NHS money to tackle ill health

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/17/poorest-areas-extra-nhs-money-tackle-ill-health

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The poorest parts of England are to receive extra money to tackle ill health after NHS bosses rejected plans to divert resources from there to wealthy areas.

NHS England's decision means that scores of GP-led clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in deprived areas will no longer see their budgets cut from April. Its board has defied the Department of Health by throwing out its plans to make the age of the local population, not the level of deprivation, a key factor in the allocation of NHS funding.

Labour MPs had claimed that such a move would lead to almost £1bn being shifted from poor areas which have low life expectancy to wealthier places where residents live longer.

Instead NHS England has opted to give all 211 CCGs rises of at least the rate of inflation both next year and in 2015-16, and give those serving the most deprived places extra money to help cope with the demand caused by ingrained health problems. It was obliged to do that to help meet its legal duty to reduce health inequalities and differences in life expectancy between rich and poor areas, said chief financial officer Paul Baumann.

NHS funding had to be "equitable and fair" and take into account the three main drivers of healthcare needs: local population growth, levels of deprivation and the impact of the ageing population.

Some areas which have been underfunded relative to their need "are now at risk of not being able to provide the services needed by their population", Baumann told a board meeting.

Under a new funding formula agreed on Tuesday by NHS England, 10% of the total money available for CCGs will in future be distributed on the basis of which ones are doing the most to tackle unmet need for treatment, which is a particular problem in poorer areas.

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