27.09.11
Cuts to services ‘imminent’ - NHS Confederation
The financial problems faced by the NHS mean that cuts to services or closures of whole departments may be necessary, according to the head of the NHS Confederation, Mike Farrar.
The NHS is currently being challenged to deliver £20bn in efficiency savings, and Farrar argues that more A&E departments and maternity units will have to close to save money. He believes that centralising key medical services will drive up standards whilst cutting costs.
Farrar wrote in an article for the Guardian: “I am deeply concerned that the gravity of this problem for the NHS is not widely understood by patients and the public.
“There is a real risk we will sleepwalk into a financial crisis that patients will feel the full force of. This could see the NHS forced to salami-slice its way out of financial trouble, cutting services and use of less effective treatments.
“There are three scenarios. The NHS maintains service standards but goes bust while doing so; it sees standards slip but maintains financial balance; or it keeps improving and stays in the black. Clearly, we all want the third option.”
He continued: “But we will only get there if the NHS can release resources to meet growing demand. This means radically re-orienting services to reduce hospital stays and offering new forms of care. Put bluntly, this means fewer beds and fewer hospital-based jobs.
“Evidence shows we can improve care if we concentrate some specialist services in bigger centres. This can mean surgeons performing complex operations more regularly and achieving better outcomes.”
This comes after the news that 22 trusts are struggling financially due to PFI repayments, according to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley and may be unable to cope – although some of the trusts themselves questioned Lansley’s assertion.
Several medical professionals have spoken out in recent weeks about the need to reduce the number of hospitals if the NHS is to deliver higher quality care in the future.
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