Efficiency drive has saved NHS millions, say ministers
pharmafile | October 11, 2007 | News story | |Â Â Â
New targets set for PCTs have saved the NHS millions, according to new figures released by the Department of Health.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw has proclaimed the benefits of a number of reforms and efficiency drives which have saved money in the service, including the mass switch from branded to generic statins.
The figures are published as part of the Recent Better Care, Better Value indicators, which show the NHS has saved £363 million by working more efficiently in the past year.
The indicators help the NHS identify best practice and show trust-by-trust performance across a number of key efficiency and productivity indicators.
"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," said health minister Ben Bradshaw.
"But productivity is about working smarter, not harder – improved efficiency will deliver better patient care as well as better value to the taxpayer."
All 152 of England's PCTs have been ranked by their efforts, and the Department of Health highlighted some key areas that yielded huge savings as a result.
Reducing the length of patient stay freed up £152 million; managing variation in emergency admissions released £79 million; and increased prescribing of low-cost statins released £77 million.
Switching patients from branded statins, such as Pfizer's Lipitor to generics such as simvastatin has been controversial with pharma companies, and has even been a factor behind a legal challenge currently being mounted by the ABPI.
But the industry is otherwise powerless to stop large-scale switches to generics, and there are plans to incentivise the tactic in other therapy classes by including them in the Better Care Better Value indicators.
A further 37 indicators, first proposed for September 2007, have been pushed back to January next year, which could potentially save the NHS £2.2 billion.
