Warning of £59m raid on our NHS funding

A STAGGERING £59 million a year would be snatched from the NHS in Oldham if a new funding formula is forced through, a study has warned.

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams raised fears earlier this month over a plan by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to increase spending on the growing elderly population at the expense of deprived areas.

Academics at Durham University have warned the policy threatens to shift huge sums from Oldham and other poorer areas to the likes of Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Oldham would lose £59.584 million (15.2 per cent) of its current funding if age was the only factor — a loss of £266 per person.

Professor Clare Bambra, of the institute, said: “Government plans to allocate NHS resources by age only would disproportionately benefit areas of England that are the most healthy, most affluent — and most likely to vote Conservative.”

The Department of Health said there is no intention to allocate money according to age alone.


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