The systems set to gain and lose hundreds of millions

Nine integrated care systems are set to lose hundreds of millions in NHS funding relative to others in coming years – while eight stand to make big gains – under new NHS England funding policy.

New NHSE CEO Sir Jim Mackey has vowed to move systems to their “fair share” funding allocation in the next few years, and to withdraw the “deficit support” that has provided a large subsidy to some areas since Covid.

It is unclear if NHSE will decide to cut their funding in real or cash terms in order to move more quickly to “fair shares”. Sir Jim has not said how quickly the change will happen, but he is seeking to remove “deficit support” as soon as next year. 

He said: “We will need to develop an affordable pace of change policy [for moving to fair share allocations], but I think it’s important that you can see where we are heading.”

However, rapidly removing their support is likely to lead to major service challenges in these areas, or to deepening their deficit problems even further.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 10 April 2025