Tuesday, January 02, 2007

NHS 'facing make or break year'

Reconfiguration of services is proving controversial



Failure to tackle rising costs or to invest in modern services has put the long-term future of the NHS in England under threat, a report warns.

The study, by the think tank Reform, argues that the long-term strength of the NHS is weaker than two years ago, despite record levels of investment.

It calls for deficits to be written off, and for increased patient choice and competition to drive faster reform.
Thousands of people across the country have protested about reconfiguration of NHS services, which the government argues is needed to boost services, but which opponents fear will have the opposite effect.

A key problem was that the Department of Health had failed to control the spiralling long-term costs of manpower and infrastructure
As a result, some planned service reconfigurations were being driven by the need to reduce deficits.

The best way to proceed, the report argued, was to separate the issues.

First, deficits had to be written off, then measures introduced to ensure rigorous financial discipline, better value for money, and service reconfiguration based on the aim of increased patient choice.

Professor Bosanquet said: "The Department of Health has been so busy fire-fighting that it has not developed a process for getting real value.

"The beginning is the abolition of deficits to allow a fresh start; then investment in new services and competition can follow."
The spokesman for the DOH said the NHS would be in overall balance by the end of the current financial year, and would deliver a surplus by the end of 2007-08.

But he said there was no question of deficits being wiped out.

"It would be unfair for overspending organisations to bailed out by those that underspend."

 AS CAN BE SEEN FROM THIS REPORT, THE ONLY SATISFACTORY WAY FORWARD IS TO WIPE THE DEBT AND START AGAIN AND TO RECONFIGURE SHOULD THAT BE APPROPRIATE AND ACCORDING TO DOH WISHES INCLUDING DAY SURGERY (THAT PART IS CONTROVERSIAL AS DAY SURGERY IS THE REASON CITED FOR HINCHINGBROOKES FINANCIAL PROBLEMS