The health service’s budget stands at £200 billion a year
10:00, 03 Sep 2025Updated 10:47, 03 Sep 2025
Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, in Cramlington, Northumberland.(Image: MDM)
A North East NHS boss has admitted that reform is needed in the health sector after a county councillor criticised the “mind blowing” cost of the service. The health service budget currently stands at more than £200 billion a year.
Coun Georgina Hill, the chairman of Northumberland County Council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee pointed out that the cost of the health service took up two thirds of income tax receipts. Income tax receipts for the UK came to £301 billion for 2024/25.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the committee following a presentation giving an overview of the health service, she said: “We often come back to fundamental problems with the NHS that need significant reform. Two thirds of everybody’s income tax goes on the health service.
“These are mind boggling figures. There are examples of phenomenal services, but day to day and with GPs there are so many problems with the NHS and so much cost.
“There is a reluctance to address the issues and it needs significant reform. People who work in the NHS are often in a good position to suggest things but probably feel that they can’t.”
Responding to Coun Hill’s comments, director of delivery for Northumberland and North Tyneside at the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) Rachel Mitcheson pointed to the recent adoption of the Government’s ten-year plan for the health service.
She said: “You raise a good point. I think that is what the ten-year plan is trying to address with bringing healthcare closer to home, moving services out of hospitals and making them more accessible so people can access care when they need to.
“It does take a huge amount of reform to do that. It’s a big change to how clinicians work and how people see it.
“I think that’s what they’re trying to do as well as be more of a health service rather than an illness service. We focus so much on treating the illness that we don’t look at how we can keep people healthy so they don’t become sick in the first place.
“It is not sustainable moving forward – people recognise that. It does need to change. Going forward, we need to get to a better place. It’s very much something that we talk about all the time.”
The NHS ten year plan, known as “Fit for the Future” was launched in July this year and outlines strategies for modernising and improving the health service. The plan had three “big shifts” to how the NHS will work.
These are:
from hospital to community: more care will be available on people’s doorsteps and in their homesfrom analogue to digital: new technology will liberate staff from admin and allow people to manage their care as easily as they bank or shop onlinefrom sickness to prevention: we’ll reach patients earlier and make the healthy choice the easy choice
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