THE British Medical Association yesterday warned that further NHS cuts will compromise patient care.
It was responding to the publication of a review into NHS efficiency by Lord Carter, which claimed ‘efficiencies’ in NHS Trust spending can ‘save’ £5bn a year.
Dr Paul Flynn, chair of the BMA consultants committee, said: ‘The NHS is already the most efficient health care service in the world, delivering the best value for money and highest quality of patient care. With billions having been cut from the NHS budget in recent years through “efficiency savings” and cuts to staff pay, we must ensure further reductions don’t compromise patient care and place more pressure on already overstretched services and staff.
‘Doctors are well placed to identify where savings can be made, without patient care being put at risk, and managers should make better use of this insight and experience. There has been a rise in the number of NHS staff reporting stress-related illnesses in recent years, as increasing demand and cuts to services leave them over-stretched and struggling to cope. This shows that short-term savings can come at a long-term cost to services and staff wellbeing.
‘Better staff planning and procurement are important but we must be wary of trying to apply a one size fits all model of cost saving, as each hospital has their own unique set of challenges and circumstances. Improving procurement provides an opportunity to look again at supply chains and ensure the NHS is buying good quality, value for money but also ethically produced products. Efficiencies alone are not enough to deal with rising demand and there needs to be adequate investment in staff and services to ensure the NHS can rise to the enormous challenges facing it.’
Unison Head of Health Christina McAnea said: ‘Of course it’s essential that savings can be made, particularly at a time when NHS budgets are being cut. But there is an irony that over the past five years, there has been an almost constant criticism of what the government calls “back office” staff in the NHS. Many of these jobs have disappeared in the name of greater efficiency.
‘But unless, as this report shows, there are staff with the right skills and the time to give over to sourcing the best deals for their workplace when it comes to drugs and other supplies purchased, valuable NHS resources will be wasted.’
