Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that many NHS trusts and orthopaedic consultants apply good practice in the way that they handle total hip replacements. However, there are significant variations in performance, and there is need for good practice to be spread more widely for the benefit of […]
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, today reported to Parliament the results of his examination of the 17 Summarised Accounts* which cover the financial activities of the National Health Service in England, with an annual budget of some £36 billion. Sir John’s opinion on each of the summarised accounts is unqualified. His report […]
Our investigation focuses on the delivery, performance, oversight and progress implementing change on four health screening programmes.
Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, reported to the Scottish Parliament today that there is scope to improve the responsiveness of accident and emergency ambulance services in Scotland and the impact they have on the healthcare of patients. The Scottish Ambulance Service are responsible for ambulance services across Scotland. Their emergency […]
This report examines whether the NHS is well placed to get value for money from its investment in developing new care models through vanguards.
A National Audit Office report today finds that NHS trusts need to do more to identify property they no longer need and dispose of it more quickly and effectively. Better management could bring forward some sales and release significant sums for use elsewhere in the NHS. The NHS has one of the largest estates in […]
The Drug Treatment and Testing Order can be a successful community sentence for some drug misusing offenders who would otherwise have been considered for a prison sentence, according to a report to Parliament today by the National Audit Office. However, only 28 per cent of Orders terminated in 2003 were completed in full or were […]
Delivering the National Programme for IT in the NHS is proving to be an enormous challenge. All elements of the Programme are advancing and some are complete, but the original timescales for the electronic Care Records Service, one of the central elements of the Programme, turned out to be unachievable, raised unrealistic expectations and put […]
The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) has a good track record, nationally and internationally, in protecting public health and in ensuring that medicines are in general safe, of good quality and effective if used properly. But, according to a National Audit Office report, it needs to do more to improve the quality of information and advice […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the prevalence of obesity in England had tripled over the last 20 years and continues to rise. Most adults in England are now overweight, and one in five is obese. Producing the first authoritative estimates of the costs and consequences of obesity […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that many NHS hospitals have made important improvements in the way they admit and discharge patients, and manage their bed stock. But there are significant variations in performance, and some trusts could do more to reduce the number of cancelled operations and […]
Executive Agencies can improve how they set targets and do more to ensure that their initiatives are leading to better delivery of services, Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office reported today. He presented to Parliament four reports which assess how agencies are seeking to improve public services. Executive Agencies need to […]
The NAO has investigated how NHS Shared Business Services handled its backlog of unprocessed clinical correspondence.
The number of NHS and local government bodies with weaknesses in their arrangements for delivering value for money is increasing.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that NHS Acute Trusts in England held medical equipment with an estimated replacement value of some £3 billion. In 1996-97 they spent some £220 million on acquiring medical equipment annually and a further £120 million on maintenance. Figures for 1997-98 are similar. Medical […]
This investigation covers how the UK government determines the amount of funding it allocates to the devolved administrations.
The acquisition of the Heart Hospital represented an entrepreneurial and novel approach to improving patient services, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. The NHS acted quickly to take advantage of an unusual opportunity and acquired the hospital and its equipment at a good price. Activities at the Heart […]
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.
This report examines whether the government is likely to meet its ambitions for children and young people’s mental health services.
This briefing has been prepared to help inform the House of Commons Health Select Committee examination of Health Resource Allocation.