NHS Will Suffer Financial Crisis in 2015 from Budget Freezes

Britain's National Health Service is poised for its own financial crisis in 2015 as a budget freeze, implemented by the Coalition, means that many hospitals are in danger of going into deficit.

The NHS's budget is roughly £109bn (€132bn, $182bn), and although it hasn't been cut, it has barely been increased. It is set to rise by 0.1% in 2014-2015.

The government is set to make its funding decisions after the general elections.

A leading unnamed think tank states that whoever is in power come next years' general election will have to find significantly more funding for the NHS, or will have to deal with "significant cuts to services", in a story ran by the Independent.

The increasing cost of medicine as well as an ageing UK population has put real strain on the budget.

Waiting lists are also on the rise – there was a 360,000 waiting list for people needing treatment in January of this year.

The health service was already bracing itself for a tough year following the news that £3.8bn of its budget is going to be transferred to local authorities as they are set to increase their role in caring for the disabled and elderly.

Trusts are also preparing for the projected £30bn deficit that is set to hit them by 2020.

The think-tank, which is anonymous in the Independent's report, warns that the future of the NHS is at risk unless the government comes up with drastic solutions in the near future.

Richard Murray, the King's Fund's director of policy, told the Independent: "In the past, each time the NHS has got very close to the wire, governments have found extra money. Tony Blair did it, the Conservatives did it before that.

"I don't think any of the political parties are ready for this... It's a difficult one with deficit reduction so important and the NHS so important, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place."

As it stands, 65 trusts are currently in deficit, and two thirds were concerned that they will enter into it in 2015-2016.