NHS documentary counts cost
pharmafile | April 25, 2014 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Channel 4, Drug pricing, NHS, PPRS, vba
The funding issues facing the NHS are to be explored in a new documentary series on Channel 4.
Set to be called ‘NHS: The Cost of Living’ and transmitted later this year, the programme will also allow viewers to vote on how they think NHS money would best be spent.
There will be four 60-minute episodes followed by a live debate “which will explore directly – and in depth – the questions raised in the films and what they mean for the future of one of our most-loved institutions”, the programme makers say.
The programmes are expected to follow the stories of individuals with a wide range of medical conditions, all of whom are seeking treatment on the NHS.
“Some will receive it, some will not,” Channel 4 says in a statement. “With a live presence through the broadcast of the documentaries, this innovative format will challenge viewers to decide for themselves who should receive the treatment and how the NHS should spend its rapidly depleting funds.”
The broadcaster’s head of documentaries Nick Mirsky explains: “We can’t afford to provide all the medical treatment that we would like to. In the debate programme we will ask our viewers where and how we draw the line: who should receive it and who should be denied.”
The most deserving cases for treatment will not, however, be decided by public vote. The broadcaster insists: “The decisions viewers take will be registered and contribute to the debate but will not impact directly on any patient care.”
Sanjay Singhal, founder of independent production company Voltage TV, which will make the show, says: “It’s an ambitious programme combining strong character-led storytelling, difficult access, solid journalism and innovation in form – with tricky moral dilemmas running through its core.”
The programme arrives as the NHS faces “a momentous funding crisis which could threaten its very survival”, Channel 4 says. Mirsky insists that the series will explore the ‘complex ethical and financial dilemmas’ faced by doctors.
The cost of running the NHS is a crucial issue for pharma companies operating in the UK. The most recent drug pricing agreement will see the sector underwrite for the next two years any increase on the current NHS drugs bill, with growth then capped at 1.8%, 1.8% and 1.9% for the remaining three years.
The NHS itself has been charged with making efficiency savings of £20 billion as pressure on public spending continues to bite, and NHS England has predicted a funding gap of £30 billion by 2020-21.
Adam Hill
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