The Department for International Development responds to the international HIV/AIDS epidemic on a wide number of fronts, and has increased its expenditure in this area in recent years. It has also recently announced an intensified effort to address the epidemic, one of the major threats to international development goals. A National Audit Office report has […]
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 […]
The NAO has investigated how NHS Shared Business Services handled its backlog of unprocessed clinical correspondence.
The Drug Treatment and Testing Order can be a successful community sentence for some drug misusing offenders who would otherwise have been considered for a prison sentence, according to a report to Parliament today by the National Audit Office. However, only 28 per cent of Orders terminated in 2003 were completed in full or were […]
A major initiative to secure better quality care by the NHS and improve patients’ confidence in its services has made early progress and is already delivering benefits. However, according to a report by the National Audit Office, progress in implementing ‘clinical governance’ is patchy, varying between and within NHS trusts and between the components of […]
NHS Direct, the national telephone healthcare advice service operated by nurses, has achieved a high level of customer satisfaction since its introduction. The service, which has been fully available throughout England and Wales since November 2000, has a good safety record. Evidence at the local level suggests that it can help reduce demand on healthcare […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) initiative, launched in 2001, is an effective means of improving primary health and social care. The LIFT model has a number of strengths: it takes a long term strategic approach to local health provision which combines the […]
The National Audit Office has published the results of its examination into the inappropriate adjustment of waiting lists at a number of NHS trusts. In July of this year the NAO published its report Inpatient and outpatient waiting in the NHS looking at the accuracy and management of NHS waiting lists. In that report it […]
The number of NHS and local government bodies with weaknesses in their arrangements for delivering value for money is increasing.
NHS patients receiving hip replacements have received an improved service over the last three years, according to a report today from the National Audit Office. But it will take time for developments to take full effect and more remains to be done to ensure improved quality of care to patients. This includes making sure that […]
Funding for ongoing health care is a complex and highly sensitive area, which can affect some of the most vulnerable people in society and those that care for them.
This investigation covers how the UK government determines the amount of funding it allocates to the devolved administrations.
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn reported to Parliament today that, while there have been real improvements in the management of health and safety risks to staff in NHS trusts, progress overall is patchy. The number of reported accidents is increasing, the gap between the best and worst performing trusts is widening […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn today reported to Parliament on the propriety of the Department of Health’s award of a contract to PowderJect Pharmaceuticals to supply smallpox vaccine. The report also covers the procedures followed by the Department in purchasing emergency supplies of smallpox and anthrax vaccine; and the Department’s general […]
A National Audit Office report today finds that NHS trusts need to do more to identify property they no longer need and dispose of it more quickly and effectively. Better management could bring forward some sales and release significant sums for use elsewhere in the NHS. The NHS has one of the largest estates in […]
How NHS England has handled a backlog of 374,000 items.
The Department of Health now needs to gain a better understanding of the different ways to commission personalised services for users, and how these lead to improvements in user outcomes.
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn has published a report following his examination of each of the twenty three summarised accounts for the NHS in England. Today’s report draws attention to a number of issues, including the NHS’s overall financial performance, developments in accounting and internal control, fraud, and clinical negligence liabilities. […]
Recorded sickness absence by Prison Service staff has increased since 1999, especially absence caused by stress, anxiety or depression, according to a report by the National Audit Office. However, much of the overall increase may be down to under-reporting in earlier years. Today’s report points out that the Service has made considerable progress in improving […]