Issue 16: Johnson slams PCT; Choice marketing; £550m for Darzi; PFI accounting changes; NHS spend on private healthcare
Johnson slams PCT over GP access policy
Source: HSJ; 31st July 2008
Health secretary Alan Johnson has attacked the “disgraceful attitude” of primary care trusts that quibble over the terms of his department’s flagship policy to extend access to GPs in under-doctored areas.
The PCT in question is North Lancashire; the accusation is that it is trying to provide GP access through expanding the remit of current practices rather than allowing in new GP operators. New providers bring competition and can help raise the bar on service, that might be Mr Johnson’s point. But there’s no harm in allowing existing providers to have a pop, if they don’t overreach themselves.
Choice on the buses
eHealthInsider; 11th August 2008
Solihull NHS Care Trust and Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust have launched a four month advertising campaign for patient choice and Choose and Book. The campaign, which started this week, will see advertisements placed on 124 buses, 85 bus stops and 48 billboards along major bus routes in the area.
Marketing begins in a big way – go choice!
£550m set aside to fund Darzi
Source: HSJ; 7th August 2008
The Department of Health has set aside £150m from next year’s NHS budget and £400m in 2010-11 to pay for the commitments set out in health minister Lord Darzi’s review
There are some structural changes required by Darzi that do require investment. For the other stuff, there should be some effort for PCTs and acute trusts to self fund changes. Perhaps then, the number of change projects will be kept tight, as will the money chasing them.
Accounting rule changes to cost hospitals £146m
Source: HSJ; 7th August 2008
New accountancy rules will bring up to £16bn of extra debt onto the NHS balance sheet and cost hospitals £146m a year.
This has important implications for NHS Trusts with PFI schemes.
Credo comment
How much healthcare does the NHS purchase from the private sector?
The 2008-09 NHS revenue settlement is £93bn. A Panorama documentary back in July (link to issue 12) asked the question ‘how much is spent on private sector providers?’. The answer was not conclusive but the sentiment was that increasingly larger sums were being spent on private sector provision.
We like a challenge, so we set out to answer the question and concluded that it’s somewhere between 2% and 6%. Read on for the full analysis..
