Extra funding to upgrade NHS Wales digital services and equipment

The NHS will benefit from £10 million in additional capital funding to upgrade scanning equipment and digital infrastructure.

The funding package includes:

·        £5 million for digital services to modernise elements of the IT infrastructure and support the provision of modernised and efficient patient care

·        £1 million to upgrade MRI scanners

·        £1.3 million for ultrasound scanning equipment

The extra funding is being made available today as the Welsh Government publishes its second supplementary budget – an annual, end-of-year budget, which formalises changes made during 2023 to 24.

This year, the second supplementary budget includes changes the Finance Minister announced in October 2023 to provide additional support to the NHS and Transport for Wales.

The Welsh Government provided additional in-year support of £425 million to the NHS and £125 million to Transport for Wales to help meet increased cost pressures and, in the case of health boards, rising demand.

The second supplementary budget also details some of the additional funding made available to Wales as a result of decisions made by the UK Government to increase spending in devolved areas.

But notification of the additional consequential funding has come too late to be spent in this financial year. The additional revenue and capital funding will be put into the Wales Reserve for use in 2024 to 25 and 2025 to 26.

As the figures were published, Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government said:

The UK Government confirmed the final sums last week, leaving us only one week to allocate additional funds.

I’m pleased that we have been able to direct much-needed funding to maintain the fabric of our NHS

But at a time when public sector budgets have been squeezed so tightly, this is another example of why we need greater borrowing powers to be able to respond quickly to emerging needs.

Unlike the UK Government, we cannot borrow to fund day-to-day spending so we are dependent on Barnett consequentials which often come late in the year and with little or no notice.

As it is, we have been forced to plan based on best guesses about what we will receive from the UK Treasury – this is simply not acceptable.

Eluned Morgan, Minister for Health and Social Services added:

This additional capital funding, together with the in-year revenue funding is welcome.

But the NHS is facing the toughest financial pressures in recent history due to inflation and increased demand in both planned and emergency care. Health boards have had to make some very difficult decisions despite the additional injection of funding over and above their allocated budgets.

The supplementary budget is due to be debated on Tuesday 12 March, after the Welsh Government’s Final Budget 2024 to 25 on Tuesday 27 February.