07 Dec 2005
The NHS Confederation, which represents more than 90 per cent of NHS organisations, is backing a King's Fund report published today which says the government must introduce a more effective regime to deal with hospital failure.
Nigel Edwards, the Confederation's Policy Director, says: "Government health reforms such as Patient Choice, the new financial system Payment by Results and increased use of private sector providers are making NHS finances more volatile and less predictable.
"They are contributing to a projected NHS deficit of £620 million for 2005/06 which the Health Secretary announced last week so sending in 'turnaround teams' to achieve rapid reductions in deficits, as announced by Patricia Hewitt last week, may only provide a short-term solution.
"Blaming NHS managers for deficits is a diversion from the fact that the introduction of market mechanisms into the health service requires a more flexible financial regime."
The NHS Confederation wants NHS organisations to be equipped with the tools to tackle the financial challenges of this new health service market.
Nigel Edwards says: "Patients will be the real losers if trusts are forced to cut services just to balance their books on March 31 instead of being allowed to use the kind of financial management techniques that private companies use routinely.
"Giving NHS trusts the flexibility to restructure their debt over the long-term, for example, is a common sense approach that would be more likely to ensure that local services become financially sustainable.
"We urge the Department of Health to publish its hospital failure regime as a matter or urgency because the government's new health reforms are already up and running - and they are having a clear financial impact."
ENDS
The NHS Confederation represents more than 90% of the organisations that make up the NHS throughout the UK. Its members include the majority of NHS trusts, foundation trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; NHS boards and special boards in Scotland; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
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Last reviewed 9 Nov 2006