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Response to the resignation of the chairman of King’s College Hospital, Lord Bob Kerslake.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare system, said:

“Lord Bob's decision is significant not least because he has been at the heart of government.

“What we, our members and others have been saying is that this is not just the normal pitch for more money from a bunch of vested interests - everyone accepts that the government has enormously difficult decisions to make at a time of great uncertainty and great distraction. 

“But what is unarguable is that demand is growing beyond our capacity to meet it - and ironically the current constraints are slowing down our capacity to reform the way care is delivered.

“As a society we have to decide whether or not we are prepared to take a hard look at what will be needed, embrace reform and provide the resources needed to deliver it. 

“We  have no doubt that will require us to devote a greater proportion of our GDP to health and care, but let us first gather objective evidence of what will be needed and commit to having a serious debate about what we are prepared to pay for. 

“That will also require a new way of looking at investment in our health which needs to be seen as one of the pre-requisites of an effective and efficient modern economy - not a drain on wealth creation, but a necessary building block.”