22.06.12
£700m prescription drugs savings help NHS QIPP challenge
The NHS has made £5.8bn QIPP savings in the last year, Department of Health figures suggest. ‘The Year’ report was published yesterday at the NHS Confederation conference and outlines how well the NHS is meeting its savings target.
Between April 2011 and March 2012, total savings amounted to £5.8bn. The biggest proportion of these savings comes from savings in hospital care, at £2.8bn. Savings from prescription medicines presented the second largest proportion of savings, at £700m.
The savings for prescribing drugs were double the DH’s initial estimates, published in December.
The Year notes that: “The demands of an ageing population and increased costs owing to developments in drugs and advancing medical technologies present challenging financial conditions in a constrained economic climate.
“All parts of the NHS will need to take bold, long-term measures to rise to this challenge and deliver sustainable improvement in 2012/13.”
The total savings for QIPP are as follows:
Acute services – £2.8bn
Ambulance services – £74m
Community services – £463m
Continuing healthcare – £159m
Mental Health services – £440m
Non-NHS healthcare – £157m
Prescribing – £700m
Primary care, dental, pharmacy, eyecare – £417m
Specialised commissioning – £255m
Other – £307m
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