An audit report said that the National Health Service surplus of £1.67 billion in 2007-08 reflected good use of resources rather than a failure to deliver healthcare.
Source: Financial Management in the NHS: Report on the NHS Summarised Accounts 2007-08, HC 63 (Session 2008-09), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) and Audit Commission
Links: Report | NAO press release | FT report | Guardian report | BBC report | Pulse report
Date: 2008-Dec
An audit report said that the financial position in the National Health Service in Scotland continued to improve overall, but that the service faced 'challenging times' in the near future.
Source: Financial Overview of the NHS in Scotland 2007/08, Audit Scotland for Accounts Commission and Auditor General (0131 477 1234)
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release | SG press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Dec
An audit report showed an overall picture of financial improvement for many National Health Service organizations in 2007-08. Half of the 302 NHS trusts assessed in England had performed well or strongly in the way that they had used their resources, and only 3 per cent had failed to balance their books.
Source: Auditors' Local Evaluation 2007/08: Summary results for NHS trusts and primary care trusts, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release | NHS Confederation press release | RCN press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Oct
An audit report said that there were clear signs that the National Health Service in Wales was improving the way it managed its finances. But standards varied too much, and some NHS bodies faced serious challenges ahead in sustaining financial balance.
Source: Are the Devolved Financial Management Arrangements in NHS Wales Effective?, Wales Audit Office (029 2026 0260)
Links: Report | WAO press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Sep
An article examined the link between healthcare spending and health outcomes, in respect of cancer and circulatory diseases. The results challenged the 'widely held' view that healthcare spending had little impact on health.
Source: Stephen Martin, Nigel Rice and Peter Smith, 'Does health care spending improve health outcomes? Evidence from English programme budgeting data', Journal of Health Economics, Volume 27 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jul
A think-tank report examined the role of private spending in health. Attempts to meet the challenge of sharply rising healthcare budgets by shifting costs from the public to the private purse were unlikely to make the health service more efficient. Public funding for the National Health Service was likely to have to continue increasing to reflect public preferences for improved levels of healthcare.
Source: Joe Farrington-Douglas and Miguel Castro Coelho, Private Spending on Healthcare, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report | IPPR press release
Date: 2008-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs commended the Department of Health for restoring overall financial balance in the National Health Service in 2006-07 (when it achieved a surplus of £515 million). This had been achieved through tighter central performance management, together with a programme of support for local organizations with particular financial difficulties. If the NHS were to remain in financial balance, more local health organizations needed to improve their financial management.
Source: Report on the NHS Summarised Accounts, 2006-07: Achieving Financial Balance, Twenty-third Report (Session 2007-08), HC 267, House of Commons Health Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BMA press release
Date: 2008-Jun
The National Health Service reported a £1.7 billion surplus for the 2007-08 financial year.
Source: The Quarter: Quarter 4, 2007-08, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | DH press release | BMA press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jun
A literature review examined the effect of financial incentives on the behaviour of healthcare organizations and individuals with respect to the quality of care they delivered to consumers. The findings from studies were mixed: relatively few significant impacts were reported.
Source: Jon Christianson, Sheila Leatherman and Kim Sutherland, Financial Incentives, Healthcare Providers and Quality Improvements, Health Foundation (020 7257 8000)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-May
An audit report said that the Department of Health was on track to meet most of the key targets identified in a review of its arm's length bodies. By the end of 2007-08, expenditure would have been reduced by £555 million, against the target of £500 million.
Source: Releasing Resources to the Frontline: The Department of Health's review of its arm's length bodies, HC 237 (Session 2007-08), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release
Date: 2008-Jan
