Not much solid info this morning on what the NHS “birthday present” boils down to, but here’s a run down of the immediate cost pressures the NHS faces next year. Any funding increase that doesn’t at least cover these wont touch the sides (tiresomely endless thread follows>>)

£2.6bn= the cash increase to Dept of Health’s total budget already planned for 19/20. This represented a paltry 0.4% real terms increase over 18/19. Just bringing it up to the (insubstantial) average real terms increase since 2015/16 of 1.3% would cost a further £1.2bn

Last 3 yrs, hospitals have needed bailing out of their deficits to the tune of £2bn a yr. The planned budget for 19/20 was so low balled that cash wasn’t included. A further £1bn of any new cash will need to go on that (other half can come from the £1.2bn incrs mentioned above)