Press release: Proposed health care shake up could cost more than current system
11 Jun 2002
A new report issued today has revealed that an organisational shake up of Northern Ireland's health care system is unlikely to make any significant savings in management costs.
The study also claims that the proposed changes under the Hayes review would actually cost more than the current structure.
The report, which examines organisational costs in the HPSS in Northern Ireland, has been written by independent management consultants MSA Ferndale and was commissioned by the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Services (NICON).
Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation (NICON's parent organisation) says the study demonstrates that current levels of management costs in Northern Ireland are lower than those in England and Wales.
"All too often management is blamed for problems in the health service. This new report recognises that management is a complex activity. It also highlights the folly of using structural changes solely to save money in management. The reality is that health and social services need a range of suitably skilled managers to ensure that services are run effectively and there will always be a cost associated with this."
"Management costs are already low in Northern Ireland. We know that the NHS is undermanaged across the UK so the level of management costs in Northern Ireland must lead to significant challenges in the efficient running of services. Indeed there now is increasing evidence1 that good management leads to better outcomes for patients." she continued.
The report reveals that out of every £970 spent on health and social services in Northern Ireland, £62 is spent on management and this is less than the average for England and Wales.
Dr Paula Kilbane, chief executive of the Eastern Health and Social Services Board and Chair of NICON says she hopes the findings will help to inform the on going debate about the administration of health and social services.
"Management is an investment, not a cost" stressed Dr Kilbane.
"The study shows that management costs are a necessary fact of life in the context of running complex health and social services organisations. Health and social services here are currently subject to proposed changes and people should not expect any re-structuring to yield significant savings from administration," she said.
"It remains a fact of life that a core of basic management functions will always need to be addressed regardless of the overall structure in place. People should approach any re-organisation of services knowing that the most effective management support might even cost more than at present," she concluded.
-Ends-
Notes for editors
NICON is a division of the NHS Confederation that represents the organisations that make up the NHS/HPSS. Members include the majority of NHS trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts, health authorities and local health groups in Wales; trusts and NHS boards in Scotland; and health and social services trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
1 Health Service Journal report of SDO Conference, 1st March 2002
Contact details
- For further comment from Dr Paula Kilbane contact Ivan Maginnis on 028 9055 3740
- Contact Media Relations Manager Joanna Clason on 020 7074 3306 or 07798 571078 or Senior Media Officer Amy Darlington on 020 7074 3304 or 07767 770309. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.
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