A couple of topics today, the first is the DH (dept of Health) is forcing a spending limit of £400 million on the NHS although there was a surplus of £1.7 Billion last year Health Service Journal
The tight restrictions on spending the surplus follow warnings that for the period after 2010 the NHS should expect its funding to grow by between just 1.5 and 2 per cent, compared with the 6.7 per cent promised by the Treasury in its comprehensive spending review for the years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
There will also be clawbacks on primary care trust allocations. Last year the Department of Health saved up to£870m by increasing the allocations by just 5.5 per cent rather than passing on the Treasury’s full 6.7 per cent.
The DH plans to do the same for next year, saving itself up to another£950m.
Hospital trusts anticipate having to reduce non-clinical staff bills by 3 per cent, either through freezing posts or redundancies.
The tight restrictions on spending the surplus follow warnings that for the period after 2010 the NHS should expect its funding to grow by between just 1.5 and 2 per cent, compared with the 6.7 per cent promised by the Treasury in its comprehensive spending review for the years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
There will also be clawbacks on primary care trust allocations. Last year the Department of Health saved up to£870m by increasing the allocations by just 5.5 per cent rather than passing on the Treasury’s full 6.7 per cent.
The DH plans to do the same for next year, saving itself up to another£950m.
Hospital trusts anticipate having to reduce non-clinical staff bills by 3 per cent, either through freezing posts or redundancies.
One finance director said this would affect patient care, as the staff involved organised patient records and operating theatres and booked appointments. “Even if you slightly get that wrong and lose a patient’s notes or don’t make an appointment in time, people die,” he said.
Hospitals
Expect payment by results tariff to be based on assumption of 3.5 per cent efficiency savings year on year
Warn diminishing waiting lists mean they cannot make up income shortfalls by increasing activity
Predict cuts of up to 3 per cent of non-clinical staff bill
Will have to reduce patient length of stay and close beds
Will have to cut agency staff spending and recruit permanent staff where possible
Primary care trusts
Predict limits on surplus investment and allocations will mean tight restrictions on funds
Expect to have to make tough commissioning decisions, putting off plans for some new services
“Lord” Darzi has some explaining to do.
The second topic is:-Monitor reports 'lack of appetite' for foundation trust status a “lack of appetite” for foundation status is more of an obstacle to authorising all trusts than the recession, Monitor has said.
All trusts are meant to have applied to the regulator by the end of 2010 but 95 remain unauthorised, and 18 have not got a date for entering the process.
They face various problems including historic debt and having to plan for dramatically reduced NHS spending growth.
Chief operating officer Stephen Hay said in a statement: “Having assessed applicant trusts over five years we are now seeing our authorisation rate fall.
“In addition to the complex issues applicant trusts bring to us and the tighter financial forecast, which can make it tough to pass our assessment requirements, we are unfortunately still seeing applicants with a poor understanding of what is going on in their services, unrealistic business plans and boards who are not up to the challenges that autonomy creates.”
Take note of “tough to pass our assessment requirements” this is the same Monitor that allowed Mid Staffs to obtain foundation Trust status while hundreds of patients were dying because of lack of care and apathy.
I will ask the same question again-why do we need Foundation trusts? The only difference I can see is that the Foundation status has given rise to endless layers of pointless managers who are overpaid and underworked while patient care declines.
“Medicine, to produce health, has to examine disease.” Plutarch
Angus
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