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NHS trusts 'can save £2bn a year' | NHS trusts 'can save £2bn a year' |
(40 minutes later) | |
The NHS could save £2.2bn a year by being more efficient in the way it works, the government has said. | The NHS could save £2.2bn a year by being more efficient in the way it works, the government has said. |
A Department of Health report noted wide variations in the way trusts in England dealt with emergency admissions and how long patients stayed. | A Department of Health report noted wide variations in the way trusts in England dealt with emergency admissions and how long patients stayed. |
The Department of Health is to send 16 "performance indicators" to all trusts, detailing how to improve and save cash. | The Department of Health is to send 16 "performance indicators" to all trusts, detailing how to improve and save cash. |
The government's chief medical officer has said unnecessary tonsillectomies and hysterectomies have cost £21m. | The government's chief medical officer has said unnecessary tonsillectomies and hysterectomies have cost £21m. |
The government have let down the NHS and failed to provide necessary incentives for improvement Andrew LansleyShadow health secretary | |
Health Minister Andy Burnham said the move was not about "penny pinching or cutting corners". | |
"Productivity is about working smarter, not harder and improved efficiency will deliver both better patient care and better value to the taxpayer," he said. | |
"Enabling trusts to compare themselves to other organisations in this way gives local staff the opportunity to identify where they should be focusing their efforts to improve services." | |
The government revealed reducing avoidable emergency admissions for conditions like angina and asthma would save £348m. | |
About £510m could be clawed back reducing the number of people admitted the day before a procedure - some trusts admit around 10% of patients the day before their operation whereas others admit 60%. | |
Cheaper drugs | |
Improving the discharge process would save £975m, the government said. | |
Carrying out more procedures as day-only cases could save £16m, while reducing variation on the number of outpatient referrals would save £278m. | |
Cutting the number of unnecessary surgical procedures could save £73m, the government added. | |
Plymouth Teaching Primary Care Trust was among the examples used to illustrate how services could be improved. | |
The government said the trust could potentially save £2.48m if it cut unnecessary emergency admissions for 19 conditions. | |
Other money saving measures included prescribing cheaper cholesterol-lowering statins, reducing the number of agency staff used as well as cutting staff sickness and absence. | |
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "The government have let down the NHS and failed to provide necessary incentives for improvement. | |
"It's time for a change and genuine reform." |