PFI and PF2

This briefing from the National Audit Office looks at the rationale, costs and benefits of the Private Finance Initiative; the use of and impact of PFI, and ability to make savings from operational contracts; and the introduction of PF2.

NHS efficiency map

This map promotes best practice in identifying, delivering and monitoring cost improvement programmes in the NHS. It contains links to a range of tools and guidance to help NHS bodies improve their efficiency.

The map is split into three sections: enablers for efficiency, provider efficiency and system efficiency. It highlights the successes some NHS providers have had in delivering specific efficiency schemes and provides sign-posts to existing tools and reference materials. It also includes updated definitions for different types of efficiency.

It has been updated with additional case studies.

NHS England consults on freeing up 136 million to boost frontline NHS care by curbing prescription costs

NHS England has launched a public consultation on proposals to rein in prescriptions for some ‘over the counter’ products such as dandruff shampoo and drops for tired eyes, freeing-up up to £136 million to expand other treatments for major conditions such as cancer and mental health problems.

Study shows home-based service for acute lung patients frees NHS beds

An acute ‘hospital-at-home’ scheme for patients with lung disease could save the NHS millions if replicated nationally. A study of the multidisciplinary service, which includes physiotherapists, found that it had reduced hospital stays from an average of 9.1 days to 2.5 days, saving £1,400 per case and has proven to be as effective as purely hospital-based treatment when measured by the number of re-admissions.

Use procurement data to help realise £300m of savings

NHS improvement's recent procurement league table presents an assessment of the relative performance of procurement departments using data on acute trusts’ procurement process efficiency and price performance.

To help identify your opportunities to save, you can use

• the Model Hospital to interrogate your own procurement data to help you identify areas to improve
• the Purchase Price Index and Benchmarking (PPIB) tool and the nationally contracted products programme to negotiate lower prices

RCOphth welcomes EU Court of Justice Advocate General’s new opinion on the use of ‘off-label’ drug Avastin

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) believes that ophthalmologists should have the discretion to prescribe Bevacizumab (Avastin) or alternatives such as Ranibizumab (Lucentis) or Aflibercept (Eylea), whichever is the most appropriate treatment of age related macular degeneration (AMD) for the patient, and provided the patient gives informed consent.

The RCOphth has long petitioned a review on Bevacizumab being available for wider use for AMD in the NHS. Not only does this cheaper alternative to Ranibizumab or Aflibercept potentially save the NHS over £100million a year, as identified by the IVAN study in 2012 but is clinically proven as safe and as effective by two major studies, CATT and IVAN, and the Cochrane review in 2014.

New case study on reducing agency spend

In this reducing agency spend case study, NHS Employers have worked with Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust to capture how they've successfully centralised the booking of shifts and incentivised the their bank.

Find out more about how the temporary staffing team led a project to develop close working relationships with departments to centrally coordinate shifts and negotiate agency rates which has led to significant savings and reduced spend.

As NHS approaches 70 it is time to unleash the potential of innovation to transform patient care

The head of NHS England, Simon Stevens has set out an ambitious vision for the National Health Service as it approaches its landmark 70th anniversary.

Mr Stevens will unveil new plans to free up funds for the latest world class treatments by slashing hundreds of millions from the nation’s drugs bill and announce that new and cutting edge treatments will be routinely available for the first time.  Innovations include:

• Revolutionary new treatment for Hepatitis C is set to save NHS England more than £50 million as well as saving thousands more lives
• New measures to slash up to another £300 million from the nation’s medicines bill
• Trailblazing new treatment to restore sight using patients’ own teeth
• Routine commissioning of the latest technology to help deaf children hear
• An expansion of the test-bed programme testing the treatments and care models of tomorrow

NHS England launches action plan to drive out wasteful and ineffective drug prescriptions, saving NHS over £190 million a year

NHS England has published detailed plans – drawn up with family doctors and pharmacists – to cut out prescriptions for ineffective, over-priced and low value treatments. Helping to trim hundreds of millions from the nation’s rapidly growing drugs bill will create headroom to reinvest all savings in newer and more effective NHS medicines and treatments.

A formal public consultation is being launched on new national guidelines which state that 18 treatments – including homeopathy and herbal treatments – which together cost taxpayers £141 million a year should generally not be prescribed.

Nationally Contracted Products programme Customer webinar

NHS Improvement and NHS BSA delivered an NCP customer webinar on Friday 7 July to over 100 attendees. The aim of this webinar was to provide an update on the NCP programme.

The capped expenditure process explained

The financial pressures facing the NHS in 2017/18 are significant. Providers of hospital, ambulance, community and mental health services are expecting to overspend their budgets by nearly £500 million this year, and commissioners are also seeing their budgets come under further pressure as the NHS remains in a period of relatively slow funding growth.

To respond to this financial pressure NHS England and NHS Improvement introduced a capped expenditure process (CEP) to provide tighter controls on NHS spending. This is the latest addition to a wide range of actions to address financial challenges in the NHS (see Table).

Quarterly performance of the NHS provider sector: quarter 4 2016/17

The NHS provider sector's deficit has been cut by two-thirds in the financial year just ended – from £2.4 billion in 2015/16 to £791 million in 2016/17.

These figures represent an improvement of £1.7 billion, driven by savings of over £3.1 billion with over £700 million saved on locum and agency use in the year.

This is against a backdrop of rising demand and a significant increase in delayed transfers of care. Our analysis shows that providers experienced a 24.5% increase in delayed days in 2016/17 compared to 2015/16.

NHS efficiency map

This map is a tool that aims to promote best practice in identifying, delivering and monitoring cost improvement programmes in the NHS. It contains links to a range of tools and guidance to help NHS bodies improve their efficiency.

• Map

New case study looks at reducing agency spend

In a new case study, published by NHS Employers, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust shares its experience and advice on how to reduce medical agency spend.

Consultation launched on prescribing of gluten-free foods

The consultation follows NHS England’s announcement this week of new guidance on the prescription of low value items such as travel vaccines, painkillers, and gluten-free (GF) foods.
It will consider ending the prescription of all gluten-free foods in primary care, with estimates suggesting this could save £25.7 million a year for the health service. An additional £10 million could be saved through patients no longer needing to attend GP appointments in order to get their gluten-free prescriptions.

NHS efficiency map updated

The HFMA and NHS Improvement have worked in partnership to update and revise the NHS efficiency map. The map is a tool that promotes best practice in identifying, delivering and monitoring cost improvement programmes (CIPs) in the NHS. The map contains links to a range of tools and guidance to help NHS bodies improve their efficiency.

Shifting The Balance Of Care: Great Expectations

This report from the Nuffield Trust reviews the evidence around care closer to home finds that whilst it results in improved patient experience, they fail to save money for the NHS. The report warns that the drive to move care into the community, as outlined in STPs, requires greater funding and resourcing in order to reduce the demand on acute services.

Financial Improvement Programme – Wave 2

Following the success of the first wave of the Financial Improvement Programme (FIP1), NHS Improvement is now launching FIP Wave 2 (FIP2).

If you would like to be involved, please respond by 12pm on Friday, 24 February.

Engaging Health Care Volunteers to Pursue the Triple Aim

This report from the American Hospital; Association showcases how volunteer services support the Triple Aim, a framework developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement that outlines an approach for maximizing the performance of the health care system. This framework looks at improving the patient experience of care; improving the health of populations; and reducing the per-capita cost of health care.

Cumbria’s new persistent physical symptom management service – improving value for patients, the population and the NHS

The new persistent physical symptom management service (PPSS) introduced by Cumbria CCG in April 2016, offers GPs a single point of access to a biopsychosocial symptoms management service, whatever the patients’ diagnosis. Early evaluation shows it is improving access; has high patient and GP satisfaction; and there is positive improvement on core measures for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) depression and quality of life outcomes. Early financial indicators, whilst not the key driver, look to show measurable cost savings.