BIVDA Comments on Spending Review 2020

BIVDA has commented on Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s speech to the House of Commons, where he announced the results of the 2020 Spending Review. Outlining measures designed to help the NHS maintain services as it recovers from the ongoing pandemic, the Chancellor announced £3 billion for recovery projects, including enhanced diagnostic testing, and greater capital spending to help replace outdated diagnostics equipment in hospitals. The NHS budget will also grow overall by £6.3 billion in 2021.

Commenting on the Spending Review, BIVDA Chief Executive Doris-Ann Williams said;

“At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is still putting our health service and society under great pressure, we welcome the measures the Chancellor has taken to protect and enhance spending in the NHS. In our submission to the Spending Review, we outlined proposals to boost funding for diagnostic testing and we are pleased that money has been made available to help the NHS restart its routine services, including diagnostics, as well as greater capital spending for new equipment.

As we look to the roll-out of a vaccine, and can start to hope for a return to a greater normality next year, the NHS will have a mammoth task in returning diagnostic testing rates to where they were before the pandemic. We hope this additional funding will help in this endeavour, as well as supporting greater testing in community settings, closer to the patient. BIVDA looks forward to working with Ministers and the NHS to boost diagnostics in the NHS, to ensure patients can get the testing and treatments they need.”

ENDS

For more information please contact External Affairs Manager Jon Harrison jonh@bivda.org.uk