‘Poor financial planning’ affects NHS treatment
The failure by NHS trusts to adequately manage their finances is causing patients to miss out on the best and most up to date treatments, a new report warns.
A study by the Audit Commission finds that many trusts are failing to implement Nice guidance on new medicines, treatments and procedures because of cost.
But while many health chiefs say their lack of implementation is down to lack of funding, the government’s spending watchdog argues it is in fact due to poor financial planning.
“There will always be competing priorities for funding, but surprisingly our report shows that it is not actually cost which is the root of the problem,” said commission chairman James Strachan.
“What would make all the difference, and is readily achievable, is improved financial planning and better communication between finance and clinical staff.”
Research by the commission found that only a quarter of NHS bodies could confirm they were implementing Nice guidelines within three months. About 85 per cent said the funds available for this were insufficient.
The report recommends that all trusts put in place the planning, costing, budgeting and monitoring processes that would see Nice guidance implemented in the same way across the country.
Nice deputy chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe welcomed the report, claiming the successful implementation of Nice clinical guidance was crucial to improving the quality of patient care.
“We understand that determining how to use a limited budget is difficult and we have sympathy for NHS organisations who have to make tough decisions about how to allocate funding,” she said.
“One of the reasons why Nice guidance is so important, is that it can help decision makers to prioritise the use of NHS funds in order to provide the best possible care and treatments for patients.”
However, the NHS Confederation warned that an urgent debate on the cost of NHS drugs was needed to address the problem of funding.
According to chief executive Gill Morgan, £8 billion was spent on prescribing drugs on the NHS last year, an increase of 46 per cent since 2000. She argued that it was this increase that led to the financial pressure currently facing NHS organisations.
“Scientific advances mean that new and often expensive drugs are recommended for NHS use, which is clearly good news for patients and clinicians, but we urgently need a proper debate about how these drugs can be funded,” she said.
