NHS Finance

Government has ‘no choice’ but to spend on hospitals

19.10.17: The government must urgently put more funds into hospitals in the Autumn Budget, a new study has suggested. The Autumn 2017 Performance Tracker, created by the Institute for Government (IfG) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and...

NHS could pay up to £500m a year in ‘worst-case scenario Brexit’

16.10.17: Patients could be the victims of a £500m-a-year cost incurred in the health system if Brexit negotiations end arrangements between the UK and the EU and Britons abroad can no longer get reciprocal healthcare rights. The figures, which...

Government must support GPs with indemnity costs, says MDU

10.10.17: The Medical Defence Union (MDU) is asking GPs to get behind its Save General Practice campaign by writing to their MP about the impact the indemnity crisis is having on the profession and patients. Today, the organisation has written to all of...

Opening a doorway to richer costing data

04.10.17: Colin Dingwall, costing improvements director at NHS Improvement (NHSI), discusses the functionalities and benefits of the new National PLICS Portal due to go live this month. What are the key metrics needed to measure the quality of patien...

Financial progress at risk if sustainability funding is not protected

03.10.17: Funding for sustainability and transformation must be protected beyond 2018-19 to ensure that progress being made by providers to reduce financial deficits is continued in the future. Currently, providers are allocated a share of the &...

Public support for NHS pay increase ‘overwhelming’

28.09.17: A survey commissioned by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has revealed “overwhelming public support” for lifting the public sector pay cap imposed by the government. The survey of over 2,000 people suggests that 84% supported...

Labour calls for £500m NHS bailout to avoid another winter crisis

26.09.17: Labour will call for a £500m bailout for the NHS to avoid another winter crisis during its party conference today, claiming that 10,000 people each day will wait at least four hours for treatment in A&E without the additional funding. ...

Over £203m made through sale of NHS property since 2013

19.09.17: More than £203m has been raised for the health service by selling off 295 surplus NHS properties, figures released by the government have today revealed. Since 2013-14, when NHS Property Services (NHSPS) was formed, to the end of the...

NHS SBS transforms back office functions of 48 organisations

14.09.17: A £10m investment by NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has driven 48 organisations to sign contracts for a range of finance, procurement and employment services targeting transforming back office functions across the health service. ...

Mackey urges ‘hard focus’ on winter plans as trusts face financial struggle

04.09.17: Provider performance figures from the period between April and June this year have painted a picture of tough financial targets, growing regulatory action and extremely high levels of bed occupancy, paired with continued difficulty in dischargin...

NHS deficit almost £3bn higher than official figures suggest

31.08.17: When taking aside temporary funding boosts and one-off savings, NHS trusts actually ended the year of 2016-17 with an underlying deficit almost £3bn bigger than what was reported in official accounts, analysis has revealed. In a new b...

Private firms on track to profit another £1bn from NHS hospitals

30.08.17: Private companies which run Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts to build and run NHS hospitals have made a staggering £831m in pre-tax profits over the past six years, and are poised to collect an eye-watering £1bn more i...

NHSE holding back ‘significantly helpful’ cash from CCG books

14.08.17: NHS England has decided to hold back money that would have otherwise trickled down to CCG finances because it is “simply not an option” for commissioners to dodge contributing to a system risk reserve – especially in a year whe...

Individual legal duties create ‘governance challenges’ to system working

11.08.17: A financial expert has today stated that one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS in England is in moving to system-wide working – and strong governance is vital for trusts to move that forward effectively. In a blog written by th...

Get ready to do it all over again

25.07.17: NHE hears from Jim Mackey and Lord Carter of Coles about the ongoing efficiency challenge. At Confed17, Jim Mackey and Simon Stevens both commended the health sector for its efforts in the past 12 months to break even financially in 2016-17...