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Dr Johnny Marshall, policy director of the NHS Confederation, commented on the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare 2015, published last week (18 September 2015) by Public Health England, NHS Right Care and NHS England, 

“Too much care can be as harmful as too little. It’s crucial we look after patients’ time and use NHS resources wisely. We already know that you are far more likely to have a hip or knee operation in wealthy areas without evidence of any increased benefit to patients.

“In most cases the quality of NHS care is appropriate and effective, however there is more our members can do to understand and address any inequalities in service provision to get the best deal for patients.

“These Atlas reports already provide vital intelligence that our members across the country use to improve care. However, they continue to show marked variations in care and we know that antibiotics, for example, should be used more sparingly.

“These variations in care need to be better understood at a local level so that our members can identify and adopt the right solutions from other parts of the NHS to improve patient care.

“These solutions need to cover the whole patient experience beginning with the discussions that people have with their GP about the care they need.”

Dr James Kingsland OBE, president of the National Association of Primary Care (a part of the NHS Confederation), welcomed the Atlas of Variation as demonstrating the importance of its projects:

“The NHS Atlas of Variation is a great tool for showing what needs more work and what successes we have already achieved - but would benefit from a detailed plan and support package for providers in Primary Care as well as all other sectors.

“Our Vice-President Dr Peter Smith has won awards for his innovative project in reducing antibiotic prescriptions within his practice. While his work is admirable and effective it still remains to be adapted nationally.

“The Right Care Programme has been one of the most innovative developments to identify variation in NHS care which may be unacceptable, with a strong evidence base to recognise where care needs to improve.”

View report – http://www.rightcare.nhs.uk/atlas/RC_nhsAtlas3_HIGH_150915.pdf