This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. Whether you use procurement or grant, you will have to appoint a provider to deliver the good or service you are seeking. The set of potential providers is the ‘market’. The market for the service you require may be highly competitive, with many potential providers with high levels […]
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 report examines progress that the Department of Health & Social Care, NHS England, NHS Improvement and other stakeholders are making in reducing the impact of emergency admissions on acute hospitals. The report takes a whole-system approach, and looks at action across acute, primary, community and social care systems.
This report examines the effectiveness of the government’s approach to reducing childhood obesity in England.
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 […]
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. So far, we have considered your programme as a separate programme. That may be where matters end up. But you need first to consider the option of pooling your fund with another fund. There are a number of factors to consider: A large procurement or grant can provide economies of […]
This investigation sets out the facts relating to government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic up to 31 July 2020.
There is a strong rationale for modernising NHS dentistry, but significant risks will have to be managed if the new arrangements announced by the Department of Health are to be effective and provide value for money, according to the National Audit Office. In particular, given the scepticism of some dentists compounded by a lack of […]
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. There are many models of the commissioning cycle but all share some common features and all include, in some form or another, a stage where the needs of the population you serve are assessed. Assessing needs may form part of a higher-level process called ‘analyse’ or ‘strategic […]
Head of the National Office Sir John Bourn reported to Parliament today that, in 2002-2003, the Department of Health successfully met its target of ensuring that financial balance was achieved in aggregate across the 607 individual NHS organisations. The NHS as a whole reported an underspend of £96 million within the context of healthcare commissioned […]
We record government’s progress in ensuring health and social care supplies should the UK leave the EU without a deal.
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. It is important that financial relationships with third sector organisations (TSOs) are cost-effective, that good value for money is achieved by the programme or service involved. Poor value for money means either that: more needs to be spent to achieve the expected outcomes, leaving less money for other […]
The cost of clinical negligence in trusts is significant and rising fast, placing increasing financial pressure on an already stretched system.
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. […]
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 […]
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.
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn today reported to Parliament on how well prepared the NHS is to respond to disasters. The NAO started this study before September 11 2001 and since then updated its work to take into account progress made by the NHS in this area during the subsequent period […]
The Care Quality Commission had a difficult task in establishing itself and has not so far achieved value for money in regulating the quality and safety of health and adult social care in England.
This page is part of our successful commissioning toolkit. Constructing and maintaining good financial relationships between public bodies and third sector organisations (TSOs) has never been straightforward. If anything, achieving this has become more difficult as more and more financial relationships are made through public sector commissioning processes. But good financial relationships are important – to help achieve […]
There is a pressing need for the Department of Health, Strategic Health Authorities and NHS trusts to improve their management of suspensions of clinical staff, according to the head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn. Today’s report to Parliament, while acknowledging the paramount importance of protecting patient safety, highlights concerns about the length […]