NHS finances: a game of two halves Launching the long-awaited NHS 'reset' on finances in July, Simon Stevens said, 'because the pressures across the NHS are real and growing, we need to use this year both to stabilise finances and kick-start the wider changes everyone can see are needed'. With financial performance data for the first quarter now available, combined with the results of our latest quarterly monitoring report, we can take a temperature check on the first of these priorities: the need to stabilise NHS finances. How is the NHS doing?
It’s a game of two halves. First, the good news. The arrival of the £1.8 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund – allocated to providers to reduce their deficits – alongside a suite of other financial control measures has led to the provider deficit being reduced from £930 million in the first quarter of last year to £461 million for the same period this year. As the NHS attempts to restore greater discipline over its finances it's perhaps even more impressive that this result is £5 million ahead of plan. £5 million may not sound like much in the context of NHS finances, but the tradition for quarter one has been for the NHS to be well behind plan, so this is a sharp turnaround.
So where is the bad news? There are some uncomfortable signals within both the provider and commissioner numbers that may suggest that the NHS will struggle to keep up this relatively good start. The King's Fund
It’s a game of two halves. First, the good news. The arrival of the £1.8 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund – allocated to providers to reduce their deficits – alongside a suite of other financial control measures has led to the provider deficit being reduced from £930 million in the first quarter of last year to £461 million for the same period this year. As the NHS attempts to restore greater discipline over its finances it's perhaps even more impressive that this result is £5 million ahead of plan. £5 million may not sound like much in the context of NHS finances, but the tradition for quarter one has been for the NHS to be well behind plan, so this is a sharp turnaround.
So where is the bad news? There are some uncomfortable signals within both the provider and commissioner numbers that may suggest that the NHS will struggle to keep up this relatively good start. The King's Fund
No comments:
Post a Comment