Even without further strike action, the NHS is now on track to have a near ‘£1.7 billion black hole’ in its finances.
A think tank has calculated that doctors’ strikes played a major part in the NHS overspending by £3 billion in the first half of the year.
The trust said that the half-year estimated £3 billion overspend is the result of the NHS outstripping its day-to-day budget, covering staff pay and clinical supplies.
It said that the staffing and logistical costs of strike action by NHS staff groups has “overwhelmed this further.”
It added that despite an additional £450 million of additional funding being made available to the NHS earlier this month, the current financial situation is “precarious,” adding that patients will be “likely to feel the impact, with slower progress than hoped for on tackling waiting lists and initiatives to improve care quality and access stalled.”
Around 7.7 million people are on NHS waiting lists in England, which is the…
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