Secretary of State, Andrew Lansley has announced severe cuts in NHS management costs. These have risen by over £1bn since 2002/03 and now stand at £1.85bn. This year costs will revert to the levels of 2008/09, a saving of £220m. By 2013/14 there will be a reduction of £850m which amounts to 46%. In the same statement some targets will be removed, including access to primary care, the 18 weeks referral to treatment and a reduction of the 4 hour A&E target from 98 per cent to 95 per cent.
The Health Secretary 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.
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.”
A further set of questions from dentists are answered by Ian Hardcastle, Head of UK Healthcare Banking for NatWest Bank.
Based in Manchester, Ian is in contact daily with healthcare professionals, and with his team of specialist and knowledgable colleagues, who between them cover the whole of the UK.
