The NHS doesn’t need reimagining: we ȷust need to stop burning money

Crisp and colleagues rightly argue that the NHS founding principles remain relevant but then fall into the trap of thinking that improving service models, technology, and education will fix the NHS.1Government figures show that it cost £1.51bn to set up clinical commissioning groups with nothing to show for that now they have been abolished.2 Instead of another wasteful reorganisation, we need to stop the system incentivising parts of the NHS to fight against each other.General practitioners are struggling with funding cuts (1.9% inflation uplift3 next year when inflation is running at 5.1%4). They can afford fewer doctors and nurses, so send more patients to emergency departments and specialist clinics This hurts the NHS because hospitals are more expensive.Hospital clinics are overwhelmed, so they make increasingly strict referral criteria. These often seem to reduce workload by making all referrals harder, not just inappropriate ones.5 Hospitals are paid more for tests referred…
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