There are currently far too many older people in hospitals who do not need to be there. Without radical action, this problem will worsen and add further financial strain to the NHS and local government.
This report covers recent trends in pressures on children’s social care demand and activity and national and local government’s response.
Demand for ambulance services continues to grow rapidly, but services are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with rising demand.
The Department of Health and its partners are still some way from implementing a plan to put the NHS’ finances in England on a sustainable footing, according to three reports issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
In a report to Parliament today, head of the NAO Sir John Bourn recognised that the outsourcing of the Department of Social Security’s medical assessment service had reduced costs and speeded up the turnaround of work. But the standard of medical assessments and the quality of service to benefit customers need to improve. The service […]
The financial performance of NHS bodies worsened considerably in 2015-16, according to the National Audit Office.
Challenging objectives for improving access to general practice have been set by the Department and NHS England, but a more coordinated approach and stronger incentives are needed.
There are shortcomings in how the supply of NHS clinical staff in England is managed, in terms of both planning the future workforce and meeting the current demand for staff.
Government does not know how many people in prison have a mental illness, how much it is spending on mental health in prisons or whether it is achieving its objectives. It is therefore hard to see how Government can be achieving value for money in its efforts to improve the mental health and well being of prisoners. In 2016 there were 40,161 incidents of self-harm in prisons and 120 self-inflicted deaths.
In December 2015 a five year contract, worth around £800 million between UnitingCare Partnership and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough clinical commissioning group collapsed after only 8 months because it ran into financial difficulties. NAO examined the design, procurement and operation of the contract and the events that led to its termination.
This National Audit Office briefing gives an overview of government’s approach to improving air quality in the UK. It has been prepared in support of a joint inquiry by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, the Health Committee and the Transport Committee. It examines why air quality matters; the UK’s plan for improving air quality; and risks and success factors for delivery of government’s air quality plans.
16 November 2017
Against a backdrop of increasing pressure on NHS finances, NHS England has not controlled the rising cost of specialised services.
The Department of Health and NHS England are making progress but much remains to be done to improve access to mental health services.
The Department of Health now needs to gain a better understanding of the different ways to commission personalised services for users, and how these lead to improvements in user outcomes.
Devolution deals to devolve power from central government to local areas in England offer opportunities to stimulate economic growth and reform public services for local users, but the arrangements are untested and government could do more to provide confidence that these deals will achieve the benefits intended
The Department for Work and Pensions has not yet achieved value for money in managing contracted-out health and disability assessments.
The report sets out central government’s risk analysis, planning, and mitigation strategies prior to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic
In response to questions raised by the House of Commons Health Committee in late 2013 and wider Parliamentary interest, we conducted an investigation into five specific concerns about NHS Property Services. Our investigation established the facts relating to these concerns.
May 2014
It is important that the services for vulnerable people at the Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre are delivered ‘right first time’ and this did not happen here. Steps are now being taken to address the problems but 35% of the recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ 2015 inspection have not yet been implemented.