Final Report > Chapter 24: A Health Service which is Well Led > The leadership and management of the NHS > Resources

Resources

17 We have noted the increases in the funding of the NHS since 1999. We have also made the point that if the NHS is to meet the claims made for it, the level of funding must increase yet further. This is because the various initiatives concerned with the safety and quality of care are not cost-free. Indeed, it is suggested that the cost of implementing the modernisation agenda will require significant additional funding, over and above that which is already planned. The point is simple yet crucial. If staff are to be properly trained and then motivated to continue in public service, this will cost money. If the ratio of healthcare professionals to patients is to improve, as it must if safety and quality in healthcare are to improve, this will cost money. If healthcare professionals are to have the necessary time and space, for example, to participate effectively in audit, to engage in continuing professional development, and to communicate properly with patients, this will cost money. If healthcare professionals are to have available the necessary equipment and facilities, this will cost money. If buildings are to be built, this will cost money. It would be the cruellest irony if it were demanded of chief executives that they deliver a healthcare service fit for the twenty-first century, while not giving them the necessary resources. Of course, government could change its mind and downgrade its commitment to what the NHS should provide and how good the service should be in terms of safety and quality. If it did, however, this would probably mean the end of the NHS. What government cannot do is to renew its commitment to a comprehensive, accessible healthcare service for all and then fail to fund it to the level of the demands government makes of it. Governments have got away with this in the past, but not now. Expectations have been raised and the public is watching.