'Meddling' to blame for NHS debts

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>'Meddling' to blame for NHS debts

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> The government says it has delivered reforms to the NHS

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->Mounting NHS deficits have been caused by political meddling and damaging policies, hospital consultants say.
The British Medical Association attacked the government's handling of the health service as ministers prepare to reveal the size of the deficit.
Last year it stood at £220m, but it is expected 2006 deficit figure will be much higher.
But acting NHS chief executive, Sir Ian Carruthers said the health service was improving significantly in all areas. <!-- E SF -->
He told the BBC: "Waiting times are at their lowest position ever, there is greater access in terms of a bigger number of people receiving cancer treatment, and premature deaths from cancer and heart disease are reduced.
"And services such as stroke, mental health and care of the elderly are improving."
But the BMA said the government was wasting money on involving the private sector and management consultants.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg> Yes, bad management is a problem in some places, but the biggest cause is the interference from government


Paul Miller, British Medical Association



<!-- S ILIN -->Q&A: NHS deficits
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The government is bracing itself for criticism on Wednesday when unaudited accounts for the NHS in England for the last financial year are published.
The half-year forecast figure in December showed the health service was heading for a £620m deficit.
At the time, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said she expected it to be reduced to around £250m - in line with the previous year - but indications are that the NHS has failed to make significant in-roads into the deficit, although it is likely to be slightly lower.
Paul Miller, chairman of the BMA's consultants committee, who will address a conference of doctors on Wednesday, said money was being wasted by a series of initiatives.
He said hospital facilities were being left underused because private treatment centres, which carry out minor surgery, had been given a guaranteed numbers of patients.
Waiting times
And he also pointed the finger of blame at PFI deals, which use private money to build NHS hospitals, claiming firms had made money when facilities had not been built or vastly delayed.
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It is the government's reforms that have delivered these improvements for patients


Andy Burnham, Health minister

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Meanwhile, he claimed about £1bn was being spent by the NHS on management consultants each year "without any clear benefit".
"Yes, bad management is a problem in some places, but the biggest cause is the interference from government. Something is going badly wrong and it is demoralising for staff," he said.
But Health Minister Andy Burnham said Mr Miller's analysis was "skewed". "It is the government's reforms that have delivered these improvements for patients and I find it staggering that Mr Miller seems unaware of these facts."
He added the NHS's annual report, being released on Wednesday, will confirm waiting times are falling and the quality of treatment improving.
And Sir Ian Carruthers warned against what he describes as hysteria over NHS finances and job cuts.
But latest figures from the Royal College of Nursing paints a less rosy figure, estimating that 15,000 job cuts have been announced in recent months. This comes on top of the hospitals which have also reported closing wards and delaying operations. The causes of the deficits are also set to be explored in a joint National Audit Office and Audit Commission report to be published after the government reveals the deficit figure.<!-- E BO -->


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5052976.stm
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>NHS deficit doubles to over £500m

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> The NHS deficit tops £500m

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->The NHS deficit has reached £512m - more than double the amount last year.
The unaudited figure for the 2005-6 financial year is £100m less than mid-year forecasts, prompting ministers to say the crisis had stabilised.
Overall, nearly a third of the 566 NHS organisations failed to break-even with a hardcore group of 63 responsible for 70% of the deficits.
Over 12,000 jobs have been cut, wards closed and operations delayed as NHS trusts have struggled with finances. <!-- E SF -->
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg>HOSPITAL TRUSTS WITH WORST DEFICITS (AS % OF TURNOVER)
Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust - 25.5% (£40.8m in cash terms)
Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust (London) - 22% (£19.7m)
South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust - 16.3% (£13.8m)
Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust (London) - 14.4% (£19.2m)
The Royal West Sussex NHS Trust - 13.6% (£13.4m)



<!-- S ILIN -->Q&A: NHS deficits
<!-- E ILIN --><!-- S ILIN -->Reaction to deficit
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The deficit would have topped £1bn if it was not for a huge surplus registered by regional bodies known as strategic health authorities (SHAs).
SHAs are largely management organisations, but do handle the NHS training and education budget which has been cut by up to 10% in some places.
And a joint report by the Audit Commission and National Audit Office into NHS finances warned unaudited accounts can underestimate the true deficit.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "The NHS is now stabilising this financial problem while counting to improve services for patients."
And she added that while job cuts were being announced in the overwhelming number of cases they would not lead to redundancies.
The NHS annual report, also released along with the finances, showed waiting times and deaths from cancer and heart disease failing.
In December, the government published mid-year forecasts showing the NHS was heading for a £620m deficit.
At the time, Ms Hewitt said she expected to get it down to about £250m by the end of the financial year and zero 12 months later.
Target
She subsequently admitted the £250m mark would be missed, but still maintained the NHS would break even by the end of 2006-7. She also announced financial figures would be published quarterly instead of half-yearly.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg>PCTs WITH THE WORST DEFICITS (AS % OF TURNOVER)
Hillingdon PCT (London) - 12.8% (£36.5m in cash terms)
Chelmsford PCT - 11% (£13.1m)
North Norfolk PCT - 10.4% (£12.2m)
Cambrigde City PCT - 9.8% (£13.7m)
Hertsmere PCT (Herts) - 9.2% (£9.4m)



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The £512m figures compares to £221m a year ago and a small surplus the year previously.
It represents just 0.8% of the NHS budget, but comes after NHS funding has doubled since Labour came to power.
Most of the worst deficits are concentrated in the east and south east of England.
But the government dismissed claims regional factors were the cause of the problems.
Instead, Ms Hewitt has pointed the finger of blame at bad management. She has already sent financial hit squads into the worst performing trusts.
Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health managers, said: "It is all too easy to blame individual managers, but the financial problems often relate to systemic issues."
And doctors' leaders have blamed political interference and bad policies for the problems.
Paul Miller, chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, said the involvement of the private sector and use of management consultants were wasting vast sums of money.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg><!-- S ILIN -->NHS chief executive's report (616KB)
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"Yes, bad management is a problem in some places, but the biggest cause is the interference from government. Something is going badly wrong and it is demoralising for staff."
Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the huge SHA surplus was masking the extent of the problems.
He said nurses and doctors would no longer have posts to go on to when they finished their training as they were cutting their budgets by 10% to bail out other parts of the health services.
He also said the government had underestimated the cost of new contracts for GPs, hospital doctors and nurses, adding: "Policy is failing." Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb added the government had shown "incredible mismanagement" after spending huge sums on the NHS and ending up with one of the worst deficits for years.<!-- E BO -->

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5055602.stm