FUNDING THE NHS - IS THE NHS UNDERFUNDED

Since 1948 there has been constant debate over whether the NHS is unde rfunded. The debate heats up when crises in the NHS hit the headlines as occurred last year. Various groups, of all shades of the political spectrum, have argued that the NHS is unsustainable with current fundi ng increase because of demands from demographic change, new technology ; and increasing expectations. The government is almost a lung voice i n arguing that the NHS is sustainable but may not be doing enough to e nsure that it remains so in future. This article examines seven broad approaches used to support the case that the NHS is underfunded and co ncludes that all have flaws. There is no satisfactory answer to the qu estion of whether the NHS is underfunded because the answer requires v alue judgements that will inevitably give rise to disagreements.