Thread by @JenniferTHF

Conservative leadership candidates are proposing tax cuts to boost economic growth.

Yet the UK already has lower tax intake than many other countries in Western Europe… and lower GDP...🧵 (1/12)

health.org.uk/news-and-comme…

...lower GDP means less spent on health care.

GDP (2020)
Germany: £3.2 trillion
UK: £2.2 trillion

And it shows..
Total health spend per head (2020)
Germany £4,723
UK: £3,326

oecd.org/health/health-… (2/12)

...beds per head MUCH lower.

See our analysis featured in @FT this week 🔽
ft.com/content/bd2487… (3/12)

...wait time for hip replacement in Berlin: 1 week (listen out for our next podcast episode...)

In UK: median wait for orthopaedics elective care: 16 weeks.

You get what you pay for.

health.org.uk/news-and-comme… (4/12)

‘How can we afford the NHS?’ might be better posed as: ‘Why is the economy not large enough to support a comparatively cheap health system like the NHS? And why are higher taxes off the table to pay for it?' (5/12)

Instead a crude meme is: 'the NHS is an inefficient blob, curb spending growth and reform it’.

But we don’t prescribe that for industry to boost limp productivity – instead we talk about long term investment in tech and skills. (6/12)

The new PM will need to face the nature and scale of the challenge in the NHS. Or face huge political risk.

In 1998 the risk was waiting times, now add the results of chronic underinvestment in primary and social care.

So a triple risk...hsj.co.uk/policy-and-reg… (7/12)

The £ commitments made to the NHS and social care will need to be honoured to reduce NHS waiting times, boost primary care and to deliver the planned reforms to the social care cap.
health.org.uk/publications/h… (8/12)

NHS also needs support and investment in leadership, management and capital to innovate, deliver care better and boost productivity. And labour-saving technology. Just like businesses…health.org.uk/publications/l… (9/12)

The current reforms to #socialcare funding do not go far enough to protect people from catastrophic care costs. Much more is needed beyond this to ‘fix’ the sector and reduce avoidable high costs on the NHS.health.org.uk/news-and-comme… (10/12)

Will ‘levelling up’ be a priority for the new leader?

To stem growing demand for care and invest in the nation’s future prosperity, governments can’t duck a serious focus on improving health, and health inequalities.
health.org.uk/news-and-comme… (11/12)

As @ProfBrianCox tweeted... ‘You can convince people to vote to abolish gravity, but they will be very pissed off with you when they hit the ground’. (12/12)

https://twitter.com/profbriancox/status/1005353016495607808?lang=en-GB