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The CBI responded to a King’s Fund survey of NHS Finance Directors which revealed a concern among respondents that quality of care may suffer as financial pressures bite from next year.

Matthew Fell, CBI Director for Competitive Markets, said:

“This survey highlights the urgent need to rethink the way we deliver some of our public services to cope with squeezed budgets and increased demand, including from an ageing population.

“For the NHS, harnessing the latest technology can deliver quality healthcare while reducing costs. For example, moving hospital care closer to the home, interacting with patients through their TVs, and equipping healthcare staff with smartphones to improve remote working, could save £3.4bn a year and improve outcomes for patients.

“Opening up some state-run services to independent competition helps to encourage innovation, and recent CBI research shows this approach could save £22 billion if adopted more widely across public services. The Government needs to be bold and set out a clear vision of which areas it is prepared to do this in and when.”

The CBI report, The right care the right place: delivering care closer to home can be found here.

The CBI’s Open Access report about opening up more areas of public services delivery to independent competition can be found here.

Notes to Editors:

The CBI Annual Conference 2012, Forging a New Economic Future, will take place on Monday 19 November at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, featuring an exceptional line-up of business and political speakers.