Former Health Minister and NHS doctor Dr Dan Poulter MP has backed the call for a cross-party Commission.
Dr Dan Poulter MP says:
“I am calling for an independent cross-party NHS/Social Care Commission.
40 independent charities, MPs and Peers from all parties, the Royal College of Surgeons, and the non-partisan group NHS Survival back this call.
Independent experts have widely accepted the £20bn NHS funding gap by 2020 will not be met solely by efficiency savings. By 2020 social care could face a £6bn deficit. NHS Chief Executive Simon Steven this week called for urgent cross-party work on social care funding. As a doctor and MP, I know full well any social care shortfall impacts on the NHS too.
It is clear to me that the Government must work urgently with other political parties, public and staff to establish a long-term consensus for the NHS and care well before the next Election. We must build on the work of the Five Year Forward View and the Barker Commission, to urgently achieve a responsible long-term consensus now.
So I call on both Government and Opposition to urgently start work on a cross-party NHS/Social Care Commission.”
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