Wes Streeting tells of inner conflict at voting on law for assisted dying

By Kate Ferguson

HEALTH Secretary Wes Streeting warns the days of blank cheques for the NHS are over and said extra Budget cash will be linked to reforms.

The health service will be given a multi-billion pound injection — even though other departments are scrambling to find massive cuts.

But Mr Streeting said it will come with strings and all investment will be linked to reform such as weekend working and new tech.

He said: “We have settled with the Chancellor. The challenge we have got is enormous, but I am happy with our Budget settlement.”

But he added: “The days of blank cheques for the NHS are over.

“The money simply isn’t there. We have got to restore some discipline into NHS finances and get deficits under control.

“And that means giving the NHS the tools to do the jobs and the investment on capital and tech.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning to drop a tax bomb in her Budget later this month.

This is expected to drag millions into higher income tax brackets and include a rise in employer National Insurance Contributions — which has been described as a “tax on jobs”.

So is Mr Streeting bluntly telling us that higher taxes are worth it to improve the NHS?

He said: “Unless we take the tough decisions now we are going to be paying a heavier price for the failure in the longer term.”

He will this week unveil a triple whammy of reforms to turn the NHS around in his ten-year plan.

It includes rolling out wearables such as smart watches and rings that track a patient’s health and help manage conditions including diabetes and cancer.

Plans for a new digital patient passport will finally come at ­parliament this week, so records, appointments and test results can all be accessed on the NHS app.

And new one-stop neighbourhood health centres will be created so doctors, physios and dentists are brought together under one roof.

Meanwhile, hospitals that get extra cash to cut waiting lists will need to show they are working evenings and weekends. Doctors will be told to use side by side operating theatres — so they can work on one patient and swiftly move to the next one.

Plans to build 40 new hospitals — announced by ex-PM Boris Johnson but paused by Labour — will go ahead. But many are set to take years longer than first planned.

Mr Streeting says of the situation: “One of my local hospitals is directly affected by this. I am furious about it because I know how desperately needed these schemes are.”