Patients will face longer waits as the NHS debt crisis spirals out of control, experts warn.
A review carried out by the Nuffield Trust think-tank has highlighted growing concerns about the financial state of the NHS.
By the end of the 2013-2014 financial year, the NHS was £100 million in debt, with a third of hospitals overspending.
Hospital finances have declined by £1 billion in the past year, and Nuffield estimates this will continue to deteriorate.
Andy McKeon, senior policy fellow at the Trust, said: “The NHS has risen to the challenge of living within its means over the past three years.
“But it has now reached tipping point. Our analysis shows just how poorly placed it is to cope with the squeeze still to come.”
He predicts this will have an adverse impact upon patients, who will face longer waits in hospitals, GP surgeries and operating lists.
The situation is so severe that health leaders do not think the NHS can sustain a free service. In a poll of senior health managers, 47% believed patients will have to pay to use the NHS within a decade.
Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the British Medical Association council, said: “The NHS is buckling under the pressure of rising demand and stagnating resources…It is clear that many problems are coming to a head.”
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