The NHS will be expected to find £4.75 billion in savings.
The NHS has had its efficiency targets doubled in a Treasury “crackdown” on “wasteful” spending.
In an announcement over the weekend, Chancellor Rishi Sunak committed to reducing “wasteful” spending across all public sectors.
The measures have reportedly been introduced to help the economy recover after taking a hit due to the pandemic.
The plans include doubling the current NHS savings target to 2.2%, with a target of making £4.75 billion in savings, the chancellor claims.
In real terms, this means NHS organisations will be tasked with getting better value for money and reducing spending where possible.
Facing uncertainty.
NHS Confederation, the organisation that represents NHS trusts, admits that while there is room for improvement, organisations are still facing uncertainty due to the pandemic.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the organisation, warned; “Efficiency is strongly linked to capacity and the NHS is operating at well over the occupancy levels it would want to. You can’t run a highly efficient service with bed occupancy levels at such a continued high level.
“We are paying the price for the low bed base we have in the NHS compared to other countries such as Germany. The lowest funding increases for a decade in the 2010s have further compounded this.”
Mr Taylor continues, “We are also facing much higher levels of inflation than anyone was expecting and this will in effect reduce the purchasing power of the NHS. Combine this with the 110,000 staff vacancies we have in the NHS and it’s clear that asking for more demanding efficiency targets is highly ambitious.”
Squeezing NHS staff.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that trying to squeeze more from NHS staff is not the way forward.
Pat Cullen, General Secretary and Chief Executive of the RCN added; “Trying to squeeze even more out of the same staff will not work.
“The existing shortages already mean nursing staff work unpaid overtime to keep the NHS running.
“Leaving jobs unfilled and cutting staffing costs is never efficient, it is a false economy that hits patient care. Rebuilding from the pandemic, the government must make health and care the priority for investment not the target for cuts.”
