Welfare Reform on the Web (September 2005): National Health Service - Funding

Anatomy of a meltdown

T. Bamford

Health Service Journal, vol.115, Aug. 4th 2005, p.18-20

The ex-chair of Kensington and Chelsea Primary Care Trust describes its descent into financial deficit, and advises others on how to avoid making the same mistakes.

Code of conduct for payment by results: draft for consultation

Department of Health

London: 2005

Under payment by results, providers are paid for each patient they treat according to a national tariff. The draft code emphasises the importance of collaboration, efficiency and transparency on the part of healthcare organisations implementing payment by results to ensure that patients come first. It also includes specific rules on how payment by results should be operated in practice. These cover areas such as setting the tariff, patient choice, referrals and treatment thresholds, and payment.

DoH threatens trusts with penalties for financial breaches

M. L. Harding

Health Service Journal, vol.115, Aug.11th 2005, p.5

Organisations which fail to comply with a new code of conduct on payment by results will be penalised by a "range of mechanisms" depending on the severity of the breach. The Department of Health has warned that protracted disagreements between commissioners and providers will be considered evidence of failure.

NHS faces rising bill for negligence claims

B. Hall

Financial Times, August 8th 2005, p.3

The NHS is facing s spiralling bill for medical negligence claims, with the government planning to spend almost £8bn over the next 10 years to settle cases, according to new figures from the National Audit Office. The size of the medical negligence bill has grown because the courts have raised the level of payments for pain and suffering, are including a wider range of settlements, and because the cost of round-the-clock care has grown. The government will seek to curb the rising cost of claims against the NHS by introducing legislation later in the parliamentary session.

Powerless to act

R. McFarland

Health Service Journal, vol.115, Aug.4th 2005, p.20-21

The author, formerly a non-executive director of Hammersmith and Fulham PCT, describes its descent into financial chaos. He calls for primary care trust boards to be given real control over finances and to be made genuinely accountable. Government also needs to decide whether non-executive directors should be community representatives or people with proven business management skills.

Quarter of NHS trusts record deficits

N. Timmins

Financial Times, August 8th 2005, p.1

NHS hospitals and primary care trusts that failed to balance their books overspent by a total of more than £650m, figures from the Healthcare Commission, the NHS inspectorate, have revealed. Around a quarter of all trusts, and a third of all acute hospitals failed to balance their books and 10 recorded deficits of more than £10m. The deficits are all the more striking because they have emerged before "payment by results", a scheme under which hospitals will be expected to provide care for a fixed national tariff with money following the patient, has been implemented fully. Auditors say this will further increase financial volatility.