Mildmay’s Role in the NHS Financial Reset

As the NHS faces one of its most challenging financial periods in living memory, the latest report from The Guardian (9 May 2025) sheds further light on the stark choices facing hospital trusts.

In an effort to avoid a projected £6.6bn deficit, NHS England has mandated unprecedented savings, prompting service closures, staff cuts, and a shrinking of community-based care pathways.

Guardian article 09 May 2025

According to NHS Providers, nearly half of England’s 215 trusts are already cutting services, and many more are preparing to follow suit. Rehabilitation centres, talking therapies, and end-of-life care are all being scaled back or shut down—services vital to patient recovery and hospital flow.

This is not simply a financial issue. It is a patient safety issue. Mildmay Hospital has the capacity - right now - to support precisely these patients. Yet our beds remain underused.

The NHS is in a discharge bottleneck

One of the most consistent messages from NHS leaders is that acute hospitals are gridlocked. Too many patients who are medically ready to leave are stuck in beds because there are not enough step-down or community rehabilitation placements available. This bottleneck delays admissions, causes corridor care in A&E, and ultimately extends waiting times for all.

As the NHS searches for solutions, Mildmay Hospital stands ready with fully staffed, clinically led, specialist facilities ideal for supporting those recovering from serious illness or injury, including people living with HIV and related complex health conditions.

Ignoring available step-down capacity in favour of prolonging hospital stays is a false economy. A blocked bed in an acute setting is expensive and inefficient. A recovery-focused placement at Mildmay is both clinically appropriate and cost-effective.

Our staff work with compassion and expertise to support people in rebuilding their independence and health, reducing readmissions and improving long-term outcomes.

Sir Jim Mackey’s “financial reset” may be painful, but it can also be an opportunity. Mildmay is not asking for funding to build new infrastructure. We have the beds. We have the staff. We have the track record. What we need is commissioning support to unlock this potential.

Mildmay Hospital is an independent charity, and we are proud to be a trusted and cost-effective partner to the NHS. We deliver essential specialist healthcare services under contract and stand ready to do more. We welcome more patients under our existing agreements and are always keen to explore new contracts and develop innovative patient pathways to meet evolving needs.

We are calling on integrated care systems, NHS trusts, and commissioners to work with us. The health system cannot afford to waste resources - and that includes ignoring the valuable role that specialist step-down providers like Mildmay can play.