Health bosses in Northamptonshire need to save £230 million over the next five years to balance the books… but would you be willing to pay extra tax to prop up the NHS?
The Northamptonshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) was released in December, setting out plans for the local health service over the next five years.
The document revealed Northamptonshire is facing a £40 million year-on-year deficit, meaning the various NHS trusts in the county will need to save a combined £230 million by 2021.
But after the Red Cross described the health service as being in the grip of a “crisis” earlier this month, serious thought has been paid to introducing a ring-fenced tax that would go purely to the NHS.