The Guardian view on the seven-day NHS: the figures don’t add up | Editorial

The Guardian view on the seven-day NHS: the figures don’t add up | Editorial


Memo to Theresa May: leaked health department documents show Jeremy Hunt’s reform plans are running out of credibility on health, economic and political grounds

At first reading, the words in the health department’s private internal briefing can seem measured and unsensational: “The current financial context means we need to demonstrate that 7DS [seven-day services in the NHS] is achievable and realistic.” Who could disagree with that? Lift the stone and peer beneath, however, and the Whitehall calm soon crumbles as the full implications sink in.

The reality underlying the studied words in the latest departmental document seen by the Guardian and Channel 4 News is that internal anxiety over the health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s flagship 7DS pledge for the NHS is still churning. Is 7DS achievable as the budget stands? Is it realistic? The answers to these apparently innocent questions are extremely uncertain. They signal huge economic and political problems for Theresa May’s government, which cannot afford to be seen as anti-NHS.

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