Nurses are concerned that many of these plans are not being backed up by corresponding increases in resources.
For example, the draft budget for tackling health-acquired infections (HAIs) and MRSA screening in 2009/10 is £20.9m. The spending review for 2008-2011 was announced a year ago and proposed a budget of £21 million for 2009/10 for HAIs and MRSA screening at that time. Since then, a number of initiatives for tackling HAIs have been announced yet the budget has not increased to pay for these.
The proposed budget for mental wellbeing is also going down in real terms from 2008/9 to 2009/10, from £6.2 million to £6 million, despite the government recognising that improving access to mental health support is fundamental to the government’s ‘purpose’ of sustained economic growth.
neil.durham@haymarket.com
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