Column: Protect Mid Sussex’s Health Services from the National Insurance Hike

In the recent Budget, the government announced an increase in Employer National Insurance contributions—a move that could push Mid Sussex’s essential health services to the brink. Local GPs and small care providers are already struggling. This latest announcement risks pushing many to shut their doors.

For GPs and care providers, this isn’t just another tax. Unlike the NHS, which will receive some government funding to offset this increase, most GPs, care homes and domiciliary care providers serving Mid Sussex operate privately. They’ll be left to shoulder the entire burden of this National Insurance hike without any support from the government. This is unsustainable, and it risks undermining the much needed cash injection for the NHS that Rachel Reeves announced in the Budget.

In the days following the Budget, I have been contacted by a number of local GPs and care companies who are deeply worried about the impacts this tax hike will have on their ability to keep going. They are incredibly worried that as things stand they’re facing the intolerable prospect of having to cut staff and services.

This isn’t alarmism; it’s reality. Health and care services in Mid Sussex are already under immense pressure: from staffing shortages, meeting the needs of an ageing population and years of Conservative mismanagement. Now, with higher tax obligations on the horizon, many smaller providers could be pushed over the edge.

The government has promised to deliver quality healthcare for all, but this move completely undermines that promise. Here in Mid Sussex we need access to quality care, and we cannot afford to lose any more local services. It’s clear that imposing this financial burden on GPs and care homes is not the way to achieve that goal.

Instead of forcing them to the wall, the government should act now and exempt GPs and small care providers from the National Insurance hike. They are the backbone of our community’s health, and they deserve support, not more strain.

Mid Sussex deserves a government that values and protects its healthcare. I am calling on the Chancellor to change course and give our local GPs and care providers the relief they need to keep going. Without this action, the very future of health services in Mid Sussex is at risk.