Today the Chancellor set out the Government’s upcoming fiscal plans in the Autumn statement.
The Chancellor announced £22.6bn increase in the day-to-day health budget, and a £3.1bn increase in the capital budget, detailing that £1.5bn of funding will pay for new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners, fund thousands of additional beds and go towards cutting waitlists with the aim for waits to be no longer than 18 weeks.
Commenting on the Budget, RCOG President Dr Ranee Thakar said:
“It is encouraging to see the government commit significant funding to the NHS in today’s budget, and we hope to see a representative portion of that go to women’s health and gender equality measures.
“Whilst additional funding is necessary, we know that a large portion of this will be needed to meet existing pay award agreements – and to simply keep the service afloat – and we therefore urge the government to use remaining funds to make good on their manifesto promise of prioritising women’s health.
“With over 750,000 women currently on the gynaecology waiting list we welcome the government’s pledge to use this increased funding to cut waiting lists, and we ask them to consider specific measures to aid the ongoing gynaecology care crisis in this country.
“Investment in women is investment in the wider economy, and funding to implement the Women’s Health Strategy, expand Women’s Health Hubs, and improving maternity services is also vital.
“The College will continue to push for the health of women and girls to be a key component of the future of the NHS, and we hope to see the health of 51% of the population prioritised as promised by this government.”