UK Hospitals to Face Significant Crisis Similar to Other Public Services

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UK public services might face a deep crisis or spending control breaches, a report issued on Tuesday by the Institute for Government and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) said, warning that the healthcare system was being pushed to a "breaking point."

"The government cannot continue to bounce from crisis to crisis in this way… Without action, within two years it could face a disastrous combination of failing public services and breached spending controls, against a background of deeply contentious Brexit negotiations," the report said, as cited by The Guardian newspaper.

According to the paper, the situation in hospitals facing the problem of significant treatment delays was at risk of severely deteriorating further, similar to the situation in prisons with increased violence and social care system issues, while the whole situation would be aggravated by Brexit.

The report called for a better financial planning, as well as reforms aimed at supporting the public sector. It also suggests Office for Budget Responsibility-esque body for public spending to increase efficiency of public sector decision-making.

Earlier this year, the British Red Cross warned of a humanitarian crisis in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals. However, the UK government disputed the claims and refused to provide more funds to the healthcare system, suggesting reforms. In early February, a research published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine claimed that the lack of funding for the NHS and social care system in the United Kingdom had led to 30,000 excess deaths in 2015.

Last week, Teresa Pearce, Labour shadow secretary of state for communities and local government, said that the UK Local Government Finance Settlement was insufficient in dealing with the social care crisis in the country, which would continue to grow due to government cuts.