- NHS must
accelerate cuts in management costs - - Targets removed as focus
shifts to outcomes -
The NHS will begin to make immediate efficiency savings by
tackling escalating management costs in order to meet the
increasing demands on NHS services, Health Secretary Andrew
Lansley said today.
A revision to the 2010/11 NHS Operating Framework, published
today, sets out changes to key priorities for the NHS including
plans to reverse the rise in management costs seen in the last year.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:
“NHS spending will increase, but so too will the demand on NHS
services. In order to meet this demand, the NHS needs to make
substantial savings and that is why I want to see immediate action
this year to reduce management costs so that the savings made can
be reinvested in NHS care for patients.
“Management costs in Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health
Authorities have increased by over £1bn since 2002/03, with over
£220m of the increase taking place during 2009/10.
“Management costs now stand at £1.85bn and it’s our intention
that during 2010/11 we will remove all the management costs that
have been additionally incurred during 2009/10, to get back to the
level of 2008/09. Then in subsequent years, we will go beyond
that, with a further £350m reduction in 2011/12. “
The overall reduction in management costs by 2013/14 will be
£850m, which is a 46 per cent reduction on the 2009/10 management costs.
The revised Operating Framework also sets out for the first time
changes to the use of targets in the NHS. These include:
· removal of targets around access to primary care;
· removal of top-down performance management of the 18 weeks
referral to treatment target; and
· reduction of the 4 hour A&E target threshold from 98
per cent to 95 per cent.
Andrew Lansley added:
“I want to free the NHS from bureaucracy and targets that have no
clinical justification and move to an NHS which measures its
performance on patient outcomes. Doctors will be free to focus on
the outcomes that matter – providing quality patient care.
“But I want to be clear – while the NHS will no longer be
accountable to ministers or the Department for its performance in
these areas, it will be very much accountable to the patients and
public it serves. Patients will still be entitled to rights under
the NHS Constitution and the quality of their experiences and
outcomes are what will drive improvements in the future.
“We expect providers to continue to make improvements, for
example on referral to treatment times, and to provide this
information to patients themselves, driving choice and competition
in the NHS.”
Today’s revisions also ask the NHS to give greater priority to
two important areas, military veterans’ health and dementia. The
NHS must ensure that injured military personnel experience a
smooth transition from military to NHS care as well as receiving
priority treatment for conditions related to their service.
On dementia, the NHS must work closely with partners to implement
the National Demential Strategy and publish information on how
they are doing this so that people with dementia and their
families have access to clear information to help them understand
local services.
The changes set out today also reinforce recently announced plans
to publish more transparent hospital infection data; new rules on
reconfigurations that must have the support of local doctors and
patients; and plans to withhold payment from hospitals where
patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge.
Notes to Editors
The Revision to the Operating Framework for the NHS in England
for 2010/11 was published on Monday 21 June 2010 and can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_110107
2. The revised Framework includes the requirement for Strategic
Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts to reduce their
management costs by £222m this year (2010/11) and a further £350m
next year (2011/12) in order to bring costs down to less than
£1006m – a third lower that the levels in 2008/09. This money will
be reinvested into NHS services.
3. The Coalition Government has a commitment to increase health
spending in real terms each year of this Parliament.
4. On 21 May 2010, the Health Secretary announced new rules for
service reconfigurations in the NHS. Further information can be
found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/MediaCentre/Pressreleases/DH_116290
5. On 2 June 2010 the Health Secretary announced plans to publish
more detailed and frequent information on Healthcare Associated
Infections. From 5 July the HPA will publish data every week to
increase transparency and drive improvement through patient
choice. Further information can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/MediaCentre/Pressreleases/DH_116533
6. In a speech to patients on 8 June 2010 the Health Secretary
set out plans to withhold payment from Trusts where patients are
readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Further information can be
found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/MediaCentre/Pressreleases/DH_116634
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk