Comment: Government needs to face up to harsh reality of NHS funding situation

Its analysis found that NHS trusts ran a deficit of £780 million in 2024/25. Even more concerning is that the problem was most severe among acute hospital trusts, which account for three quarters of all trust spending, with 69 per cent of them operating at a loss. Elsewhere, 10 per cent of ambulance trusts were in deficit, and 44 per cent of community trusts.

Analyst Danielle Jefferies said while the overall picture appeared manageable, the reality was that many trusts were in a truly perilous position, with a real risk of widespread job cuts. The experiences with struggling local authorities show the dangers of allowing these problems to go unchecked.

An ageing population, and the fall-out from the coronavirus outbreak have undoubtedly played a role. But part of the problem, as alluded to in the King's Report, is that the Government has made bold pledges on the NHS, without matching its promises with funding. 

No doubt the Government will seek to avert an immediate crisis with a short-term burst of funding, and an instruction for trusts to tighten their belts. We will no doubt be told that advances in AI will mean better services for less money.

But the inescapable truth is that the NHS today is funding things that were never envisaged at the time it was created. In the long term, the only options are for people to pay more in tax, accept a more basic service, or maybe introduce charges for non-essential work. 

There probably aren't many votes in this. But there aren't many votes in unrealistic broken promises either.