Hospitals in England are cutting staff, closing services and planning to ration care in order to make “eye-watering” savings demanded by NHS bosses.
Rehabilitation centres face being shut, talking therapies services cut and beds for end-of-life care reduced as part of efforts by England's 215 NHS trusts to comply with a “financial reset”.
Sir Jim Mackey, NHS England's new chief executive, has ordered them to make unprecedented savings during 2025-26 to avoid a projected £6.6bn deficit becoming a reality.
They then note:
Trusts are planning to shrink their workforce by up to 1,500 posts each to save money, even though they fear that could damage the quality or safety of care provided.
A survey of 160 senior figures from 114 trusts found that:
47% were cutting services and another 43% were considering doing so.
37% were cutting clinical posts and a further 40% may follow suit.
26% were closing some services and 55% more may do so.
It seems necessary to note four things.
First, people will suffer as a direct result of this.
Second, the funding for these costs is available. Just end quantitative tightening, and the capacity of bond markets would be freed if Rachel Reeves insists she cannot raise taxes on wealth, which she very clearly could. She could also run unfunded deficits. There is nothing to stop her from doing so.
Third, people voted Labour to save the NHS, not to destroy it. If it carries on as it is, people will end up accepting Farage's offer of a US-style privatised NHS funded by insurance premiums, disastrous as it would be, because Labour will have destroyed all the value that the NHS has supplied, and all for absolutely no economic gain.
Fourth, the Assisted Dying Bill is back before the Commons next week, and NHS end-of-life care is being cut. I do not see these as unrelated events. It is impossible to do so.
There is a sickness at the heart of this government. It is destroying the NHS. Nye Bevan would be profoundly ashamed of them. I doubt Labour can survive this. Nor do they deserve to do so.
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”people will end up accepting Farage’s offer of a US-style privatised NHS funded by insurance premiums”….and that is precisely what the plan of successive Labour and Tory governments – since at least 1997 – has been all along!
£6.6bn deficit – noise in the context of Uk gov spending.
“Rachel Reeves insists she cannot raise taxes on wealth”…….because? ……….Rachel “some of my best friends are rich” Reeves (& I want to join them).
“She could also run unfunded deficits. There is nothing to stop her from doing so.”…………her programming and controllers ensure this does not happen.
Prediction: Deform will offer a heavily funded NHS, this month? next month? soon. This will hoover up the old vote.
“There is a sickness at the heart of this government” yup called the McSweeney-Reeves syndrome which involves sell out to foreign powers (e.g. Israel – McSweeney) and Red Queen thinking (Reeves). If Deform were to, for example, indicate that those destroying the UK (= LINO) were enemies of the state and would be persued – this would concentrate minds – it would introduce consequences – which at the moment are totally lacking e.g. support genocide in Gaza? (McSweeney & Starmer) – no consequences.
Stepping back & looking at this – it is almost as if it was all planned – but by who & to what end? The main protagonists are never, ever, properly interviewed thus what passes for their thinking (or personal calculation? – how can I enrich myself whilst in office?) is never forensically questioned (Wezzie Punch n Judy does not count). Perhaps this is why this situation continues, ministers being little better than elected puppets (ref previous blog on subject) with the people calling the shots able to do what their prejudices demand & masters want? LINO & its ministers – enemies of the British people.
With an estimated net wealth of £2m and combined household income of at least £325,000 pa (spouse Nick Joicey) it could be argued she is out of touch with the public
https://publicistpaper.com/rachel-reeves-net-worth-uk-first-female-chancellor-salary-family-fiscal-policy/
People will regard Farage as no worse than Starmer. The govt has and/or can get the funds to support the NHS they are just so inept and stupid that they cannot do that. I despair. Thankfully I was not unwise enough to vote for them last year – you could see what they were like prior to the election.
Sadly, Farage may, in fact, be no worse than Starmer. 🙁
If the NHS has been destroyed, along with other public services, then, bad as it is, it is rational to vote for a party that might at least offer the opportunity for some kind of health service.
And the NHS is nearing the pint of disintegration. My son had a serious accident last year and is still recovering. We live near a renowned teach hospital. Yet he could not get urgent trauma care. He could have lost a limb. Fortunately he had health insurance with his job. If you can’t get trauma care there is little point in what is left of the NHS.
At least with Reform, and it gives me no pleasure to say this, there is a hope that some people might get some kind of health service. Of course “the poor will suffer what they must”.
Aggggggggh!
Again, watch Adam Curtis’ ‘Trauma Zone’ about Russia coming out of communism (and democracy).
Our country is an oligarch’s paradise – Russia’s revenge is a harsh one.
This is our own version of the Chicago Boys shock therapy, helping to turn the NHS into a big earner for the rich, making money out of your health issues.
And the Government ‘cant afford’ the increase in PIP claims but neither can it address the ‘too ill to work but not ill enough to be treated’
It’s not that we don’t need good qualified people to staff the NHS, it’s that Starmer’s incompetent government would rather those people went and worked in other countries. (And someone explain why it’s more important doctors work as delivery drivers than in hospitals or GP surgeries?)
It is terrifying, and not much reported. I subscribe to a group investigating links between Westminster and private health firms (among other issues facing NHS). I know there are others, but everydoctor (org Uk) was started by doctors and with the Good Law project took UK govt to court on PPE failures. I encourage you to take a look and support if you feel you can.
I am doing an online session with EveryDoctor next Thursday evening at 8.
Thank you, Anne.
Anne, Richard and other members of this community may be interested in this Naked Capitalism post: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/05/palantir-revisited-whos-us-in-us-vs-them.html. If you scroll down, you can read a comment from me.
I spare Susan Webber and Richard the libel risks by not naming the banker turned politician turned banker. The end of the banker’s political career gives a clue to who I’m talking about. If anyone is really interested, I’m happy for Richard to share my e-mail and explain.
Why the shock?
This was always the plan.
The fly in the ointment?
When the plan (destruction of NHS & other public services followed by privatisation), people like Mandelson & McTeam believed Labour voters had nowhere else to go.
Now those Labour voters can vote Reform. That won’t save the NHS, but it will finish Labour off.
A rebellion of 42 MPs isnt enough. We need about 30 more.
Are there 70 Labour MPs with consciences?
I like to think that if I were in charge of NHS England and told to make these cuts, I’d have the guts to tender my resignation with immediate effect. But I see Jim Mackey’s is only an interim appointment (and he’s already warned of the consequences of cuts), so maybe a high-level resignation like that wouldn’t make any difference.
Have any NHS Trusts considered closing A&E services (altogether, not just departments that could be regarded as too small to be efficient)? Might that focus people’s attention? Private healthcare is ill equipped to take over those services, so it would undoubtedly mean more suffering and deaths, but the government has already decided that such consequences don’t matter in other NHS services.
[…] https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/05/09/labour-is-destroying-the-nhs/ […]
Yesterday I went for laser eye treatment to Spa Medica, this follows on from cataract surgery there, followed by my sight deteriorating in my left eye – fortunately right eye remained relatively OK!
This is another example of NHS stuff being taken over by private companies.
Everyone was very kind, and the laser treatment was a hoot! Looked like the best fireworks that I’ve seen in years! So the treatment was great, but I still feel bad that I had to visit a private company, paid for by NHS, to have eye surgery done.
Sorry I’m so late replying – I’m currently wearing 2 pairs of sunglasses (it was 3 yesterday!) on top of my glasses. I’m sitting in bedroom with all the blinds drawn, and it’s still too bright for me to be somewhat comfortable with the light in it, even with the sunglasses.
Starmer is a fool to allow Trump in to anything to do with this country at all. Before we know it ALL of the NHS will disappear and belong to predominantly US health companies. Aaarrgghhh!
I regret to say that I’ve been going privately for dental treatment for years now. But it was either that or have toothache all the time rather than just intermittently. I’m horrified by how children are not able to access NHS dentistry. What is wrong with this dreadful country we live in?
I hope your eye recovers soon.
Thank you for your kind reply, Richard.
Today, two days after the eye drops for the laser, I’m still wearing two pairs of sunglasses! I live in hopes that my eyes will normalise tomorrow. They tell you it takes 4-6 hours for the effects of the eye drops to wear off. I suspect it takes so long for the eye drop effects to clear completely for me is down to ME/CFS. Other than everything being too bright for me still today, I now have clear vision in both eyes, which is fantastic! 🙂
I hope it continues to get better
The prize will be for three of four companies to tender to run “regional health hubs”.
We’re not quite there yet with local government having the same footprint as the ICBs but we’re getting there.