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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The financial performance of acute hospital trusts has deteriorated sharply and their financial performance looks set to worsen in 2015-16.
Patient satisfaction with access to general practice remains high but is declining. Better data is needed so that decisions about general practice are well-informed.
