Department of Health and Social Care
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New data shows NHS working smarter
'Better Care, Better Value' indicators show increased productivity in NHS
New figures show that the NHS is working smarter to improve productivity, according to latest data published by the NHS Institute.
The latest Better Care, Better Value indicators show that in the past year, the NHS has released £363 million by working more efficiently. The indicators show trust-by-trust performance across a number of key efficiency and productivity indicators. They help the NHS identify and share best practice throughout the health service and improve efficiency and productivity.
The statistics show that in the last 12 months the NHS has increased productivity on a number of key clinical indicators. Highlights include:
£152m was released by reducing the length of stay;
managing variation in emergency admissions released £79m;
increased prescribing of low cost statins released £77m; and
£40m was released through managing variation in outpatient appointments.
The Better Care, Better Value figures also show that there is variation across the country in efficiency and productivity - but significant benefits to patients could be delivered if Trusts learn from best practice. Enabling Trusts to compare themselves to other NHS organisations gives local staff the opportunity to identify where they should be focusing their efforts to improve services.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said:
"These figures demonstrate a significant achievement. In the same year that the NHS is back on a stable financial footing, productivity across a range of key indicators has also increased. But productivity is about working smarter, not harder - improved efficiency will deliver better patient care as well as better value to the taxpayer.
"With record investment delivering improvements to patients - such as waiting times at their lowest ever, improved access to cancer treatment, and increasing choice for patients across a range of care - it is only right that we work with the NHS to improve its productivity.
"The NHS is becoming more efficient and productive, freeing up more money to reinvest in patient care. But more can be done - the NHS budget is not infinite and I want all trusts to look at these figures to see what they can do to become even more efficient with taxpayers' money."
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Notes to editors
1. The figures are published on the NHS Institute website at http://www.productivity.nhs.uk.
2. The indicators have been selected on the basis that they are areas that could have significant impact on patient care. The data is published on a quarterly basis and NHS Trusts will be informed how they compare to similar organisations to help them identify best practice and areas of underperformance so that they can put plans in place to tackle them.
3. The productivity opportunity for each indicator is calculated by assuming that organisations improve their performance to that of the top 25% of organisations for that particular indicator.
4. The indicators are:
Reducing length of stay
The number of bed days that would have been saved if there had been a 25% reduction in the amount of time spent by patients in excess of the median length of stay for patients with the same age, sex, diagnosis, method of admission and social deprivation. This is expressed as a percentage of all bed days in the trust.
Increasing day case surgery rates
The percentage of all operations from the Audit Commission basket of 25 procedures performed as a day case.
Reducing pre-operative bed days
The percentage of all bed days for patients undergoing a procedure in hospital between date of admission and date of operation, where valid data were available. Note that trusts that perform well on this indicator may have scope for larger improvement than trusts that perform less well if they have significantly more activity.
Managing variation in surgical thresholds - PCT
The surgical thresholds indicator shows whether the rate of operations for a basket of five procedures is higher or lower than would be expected given the PCT population. The indicator is the ratio of the number of procedures that took place to the expected number, so each operation is weighted in the indicator according to the relative level of activity.
Managing variation in emergency admissions
This indicator shows the ratio of actual emergency admissions to the expected level, given the age, sex and need of the population for 19 conditions. These conditions have been identified as ones where community care can avoid the need for hospitalisation.
Managing variation in outpatient appointments
The ratio shows the level of first attended outpatient appointments compared to the level that would be expected given national rates and adjustments for the age, sex and need of the population.
Increasing low cost statin prescribing
The indicator is the number of prescription items for low cost statins (simvastatin and pravastatin). This is expressed as a percentage of the total number of prescriptions for all statins (excluding combination products).
5. The productivity opportunity has reduced in each indictor by the following amounts:
Length of stay £152m Day case rate £2m
Pre-op bed days £4m Surgical variation £9m
Emergency admissions £79m Outpatients £40m
Statins £77m
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