English NHS trusts ‘more productive than their counterparts’

NHS trusts in England are more efficient than those in other UK countries, it has been discovered.

A report compiled by the Nuffield Trust found that the healthcare body spends less money and has fewer doctors, nurses and managers per head of population, but performs better than its counterparts.

According to the paper, which compared statistics from 1996 onwards, Scotland spends the most and has the highest number of healthcare employees.

However, health problems among the population were also found to be higher than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while employee productivity was discovered to be lower.

Jennifer Dixon, director of the Nuffield Trust, commented: “The research raises important questions about the efficiency of care across the devolved nations.”

Earlier this month, professor Ian Gilmore, head of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), called for more to be done to curb alcoholism in the UK, stating that it puts significant strain on the NHS.

He pointed to the results of an RCP and NHS Confederation report, which showed that alcohol misuse costs the health service £2.7 billion annually.