NHS boss warns charges will have to be considered

Any future government will have to consider charging people to use the NHS unless Britain’s economy strengthens, the chair of NHS England has warned.

“It’s not my responsibility to introduce new charging systems but it’s something which a future government will wish to reflect [on], unless the economy has picked up sufficiently, because we can anticipate demand for NHS services rising by about 4 to 5 per cent per annum,” Professor Grant said.

 He added that it was not up to him to decide where any future funding would come from.

 The NHS has been charged with making £20 billion in efficiency savings by 2015.