Good progress is being made by the Department of Health and other health and social care bodies in ensuring that older people who have finished treatment in acute hospitals are discharged promptly. According to the National Audit Office, however, more needs to be done to meet the Government’s target to end widespread delays in patient […]
There are currently far too many older people in hospitals who do not need to be there. Without radical action, this problem will worsen and add further financial strain to the NHS and local government.
The Department of Health and NHS England are making progress but much remains to be done to improve access to mental health services.
The Department of Health & Social Care’s role in overseeing the adult social care workforce.
A report out today by the National Audit Office found that navigating complaints systems is not straightforward, particularly for health service users, and handling some complaints takes too long. There is little sharing of lessons from complaints or evidence that services are improving as a result. Some 133,600 NHS and 17,100 social care complaints were […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that many NHS hospitals have made important improvements in the way they admit and discharge patients, and manage their bed stock. But there are significant variations in performance, and some trusts could do more to reduce the number of cancelled operations and […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that hospital acquired infections can have serious consequences for patients, may be costing the NHS in the region of £1,000 million a year but could be reduced by around 15 per cent across the NHS. The report is a comprehensive analysis of […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that NHS Acute Trusts in England held medical equipment with an estimated replacement value of some £3 billion. In 1996-97 they spent some £220 million on acquiring medical equipment annually and a further £120 million on maintenance. Figures for 1997-98 are similar. Medical […]
A National Audit Office report has found that government has strengthened its drive to purchase more environmentally sustainable goods and services. In 2005 the government set a target to be recognised by 2009 as one of the leaders in the EU in sustainable procurement. However a number of departments are not yet on course to […]
There are shortcomings in how the supply of NHS clinical staff in England is managed, in terms of both planning the future workforce and meeting the current demand for staff.
In 2007 the National Audit Office reported that primary care trusts (PCTs) could save more than £200 million a year without compromising patient care if GPs prescribed cheaper, generic medicines. Keele University has now confirmed the NAO’s finding by calculating that almost £400 million has been saved by the Department of Health, the NHS and […]
The Department of Health’s strategy for stroke care has increased the priority and awareness of the condition and started to improve patients’ care and outcomes, concludes a report by the National Audit Office published today. Actions taken since 2006 have improved the value for money of stroke care; but improvements have not been universal and […]