The 11 groups include the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Royal College of Nursing, NHS Confederation and Faculty of Public Health. These health bodies have written to the Chancellor George Osborne expressing concern about the level of planned public expenditure cuts.
Although Prime Minister David Cameron said he would not cut health expenditure, his comments, contrary to what was said during the election campaign, referred only to direct health spending on hospitals. The £200 million ear-marked to go is a fund held by local communities and councils to spend on health promotion activities applicable to their local areas. The types of areas facing cuts include heart disease, obesity, sexual health problems, and unplanned pregnancies.
An extract of the letter, released to the BBC, states: “We urge you to consider very seriously the position we have outlined, to reverse these cuts in your forthcoming spending review and give a clear commitment that no further cuts will be made to public health budgets in future years.”
The government’s policy means that less money will be spent on reducing the causes of ill-health and more will be spent on addressing the effects of ill-health on people. This is a consequence of choosing to cut health promotion and maintain spending on hospital services.
In related news, a number of life science sector bodies, both private and public sector, have lobbied the U.K. government in relation to proposed cuts to research and development into new medicinal products.
