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NHS starts year in strong position

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH News Release issued by The Government News Network on 27 August 2008

The NHS is making good progress against key priorities and continues to show strong financial management, predicting a surplus of £1.75 billion for 2008/09, the Department of Health announced today.

The new finance figures have been published in the first quarterly report of 2008/09, which looks at the NHS financial performance in April-June of this year. The figures forecast the year-end financial position based on the first three months of the financial year. The surplus - predicted to be around 2% of the overall NHS budget - will stay within the NHS to improve patient care and is in line with the expected financial position.

There has also been continued improvement in reducing the gross deficit, predicted to be £45 million at year end, down from £125 million at the end of 2007/08 and £1,312m in 2005/06.

The Quarter 1 report also sets out progress on delivering on key policies such as 18 weeks and healthcare associated infections (HCAIs), showing that:

* we are on track to meet our target of treating patients no longer than 18 weeks after their referral by a GP. The NHS met the milestones for March 2008; performance has continued to improve and latest published figures show that the NHS is close to the operational standard of 90 percent of admitted patients and 95 percent of non-admitted patients being treated within 18 weeks of referral. We are confident that the NHS will meet the final target at the end of the year;

* the fight against HCAIs continues, with the NHS reporting a further 11 percent reduction in MRSA infections for the period January to March this year. This has contributed to an overall 49 percent reduction compared to the 2003/04 baseline. Despite a predicted seasonal rise, C. difficile infections in the 65 years and over age group fell by 32 percent compared with the same quarter in 2007/08. We are confident that figures published later this year will demonstrate that the NHS will have reached the MRSA target;

* progress has also been made on improving access to primary care. Recent figures show that 37.8 percent of GP practices have achieved the extended hours target in July, up from 28.1 percent the previous month. Sustaining this level of improvement should ensure that the NHS delivers the target of 50 percent of practices achieving extended opening hours by the end of December.

Commenting on the report David Flory, Department of Health's Director General of NHS Finance, Performance and Operations said:

"This is an excellent start to the year for the NHS. A strong financial position backed by good progress on delivery will continue to ensure high quality services for patients.

"The NHS is well on the way to delivering 18 weeks from referral to treatment and the progress on the MRSA target is a tremendous achievement that highlights how everyone working in the NHS has taken responsibility for making our hospitals cleaner and safer.

"Following on from its 60th anniversary, the NHS must now look forward to concentrating on sustaining progress and focussing on responding to what people need at a local level. This strong start to 2008/09 means that the NHS has the flexibility to invest in making its local visions, published as part of the NHS Next Stage Review, for delivering the highest quality care for its communities a reality."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. 'The Quarter' report updates the NHS on progress towards key priorities, including financial health and can be found at http://www.dh.gov.uk

2. By the end of December 2008, 90 percent of admitted patients and 95 percent of non-admitted patients should be treated within 18 weeks of GP referral, except when the patient chooses to delay their treatment or when it is not clinically appropriate.

3. The targets for tackling MRSA and C Difficile are:
* MRSA: maintaining the annual number of MRSA bloodstream infections at less than half the number in 2003/04;

* Clostridium difficile: differential Strategic Health Authority (SHA) envelopes to deliver a 30 per cent reduction nationally by 2011, compared to the 2007/08 baseline figure.

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