The former head of Britain’s National Health Service, Sir David Nicholson, has warned that “emergency action” may be needed to shore up NHS finances.
In a BBC interview, Sir David – who ran the NHS in England for eight years – said that because there was an election period, the NHS was unable to publish the latest report on its financial position.
But he said it was “pretty clear in the NHS that there is a substantial financial problem, particularly in the hospital sector” which would become “crystal clear” in the autumn when the NHS would have to take “emergency action” such as vacancy freezes.