Is the NHS delivering too much of the wrong things?

Is the NHS delivering too much of the wrong things? More health care is not always better health care. Sometimes the NHS delivers services that people don’t want or need: the problem of overuse.

Overuse happens when health care is delivered even though the potential for harm outweighs the benefits. It’s bad for people receiving care because they get services which might make them worse – or at least waste their time and mean they are treated unnecessarily; it’s bad for the NHS because resources are used that could have been better spent elsewhere; and it’s bad for other people who need care because there’s less money around to pay for it. It’s also bad for other public services too, whose budgets are being cut while NHS spending is protected.

So, where might the NHS be delivering too much? The King's Fund