NHS efficiency measures ‘failing to improve productivity’

Efforts to improve the efficiency of the NHS in recent years have not yet had a positive impact on labour productivity within the hospitals sector.

This is according to a new report from the Nuffield Trust, which reveals that a small improvement in productivity levels during 2010/11 were followed by a slight decline in 2011/12, suggesting headline savings are not being translated into more efficient working patterns.

It was revealed that hospitals in the south of England have generally better levels of productivity than those in the north, with the east and south-west showing the best levels of performance in this regard.

Other findings of the report showed that the proportion of trusts in deficit has risen steadily over the last four years, while spending on hospital care is outpacing funding for GP services, despite efforts to move care closer to patients.

Anita Charlesworth, Nuffield Trust chief economist and the report's co-author, said: "We will overlook opportunities to meet the efficiency challenge unless we pay close attention to where and how the NHS spends money and what we get for it."

According to the British Medical Association, these findings are indicative of the "significant financial pressures" that NHS organisations continue to face.