NHS representative bodies decried the chancellor’s autumn statement as a ‘missed opportunity’ with tax cuts paid for by a squeeze on public services.
Analysis from the Nuffield Trust ahead of the autumn statement warned that the NHS's financial situation is precarious as it tries to plug a £1.7bn hole in this year’s budget.
NHS England head Amanda Pritchard this week defended levels of NHS productivity, arguing the current measure did not fully reflect improvement.
Welsh health boards will receive £460m of additional allocations this year to meet financial pressures, but still need to make significant savings.
Systems in England will receive an £800m boost this year to support the costs of strikes, but will be expected to live within revised allocations.
NHS England has announced it is allocating a total of £800m to trusts to help them cover the costs of industrial action.
Health boards still face difficult decisions to balance budgets this year, despite the Welsh government providing an extra £425m in budget update.
Scotland has announced annual funding of £100m to help reduce inpatient and day-case waiting lists by an estimated 100,000 patients over three years.
This briefing explores the work that finance teams are doing to help reduce health inequalities.
NHS leaders have welcomed the investment of an extra £200m for the NHS to help with winter pressures.