NHS England treats too many patients as an emergency, watchdog warns

National Audit Office says health service is creaking under number of hospital admissions

Hospitals in England are admitting so many patients as medical emergencies that the NHS’s finances and ability to function are under threat, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned.

But one in four of the growing number of mainly older people who end up in inpatient care should not be in hospital in the first place, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

Between 2010-11 and 2016-17, health spending increased by an average of 1.2% above inflation and increases are set to continue in real terms at a similar rate until the end of this parliament. This is far below the annual inflation-proof growth rate that the NHS enjoyed prior to 2010 of almost 4% stretching back to the 1950s. As budgets tighten, NHS organisations have been struggling to live within their means. In the financial year 2015-16, acute trusts recorded a deficit of £2.6bn. This was reduced to £800m last year, though only after a £1.8bn bung from the Department of Health, which shows the deficit remained the same year on year.

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Continue reading... March 02, 2018 at 05:31AM