NHS needs up to £3bn extra to avoid cuts, health leaders warn
Health leaders are warning that NHS services and jobs in England will have to be cut unless up to £3bn more in funding is allocated to cover unexpected costs.
The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, representing trusts and other health organisations, said in a joint statement that the cost of covering redundancies and strikes, along with paying more for medicines, was not included in the budget this year and will need extra cash from the Chancellor.
Talks between the Department of Health and the Treasury are ongoing, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has confirmed.
Responding to the statement, the Department of Health said the government was committed to "properly funding" the NHS.
Cuts to NHS services and jobs could mean fewer tests, appointments and operations being carried out.
Senior managers say that demands from the government for significant job cuts in regional health boards and NHS trusts have been made without any promise of extra funding to cover at least £1bn of redundancy payments.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "The threat from un-budgeted redundancy payments, higher drug prices and renewed industrial action risks derailing progress on key waiting time targets and the wider reforms that are essential to getting the NHS back on track."
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: "Redundancies cost money, making it harder to make long-term savings without government support.
"As the government prepares its Budget it's time for an honest assessment and discussion about what the NHS can really achieve this year in these challenging financial circumstances - and about what is 'doable'' to meet ministers' ambitions in their 10-year plan for health."
Source: BBC News, 27 October 2025