Review of NHS Performance Under the Coalition Government (King’s Fund / BBC News / Macmillan Cancer Support)

Summary

The following review of NHS performance by the King’s Fund finds that waiting times for A&E, cancer care and routine operations have been deteriorating recently, and that Trust deficits are increasing in scale and extent.

The report analyses NHS productivity and financial performance between 2010 and 2015, and discusses future prospects. It appears the NHS is pushing the limits (according to this analysis), and there are indications that staff morale may be on the decline. Patient and public satisfaction remain high.

A substantial NHS deficit will occur in the final year of the current parliament, despite extra funding injections during 2014/15 and even though funding has increased in real terms since 2010 more than planned. All-too familiar territory.

“ …assessing the performance of any health service is an inexact science for many reasons”.

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Reference

Appleby, J.Baird, B. Thompson, J. [and] Jabbal, J. (2015). The NHS under the coalition government. Part two: NHS performance . London: The King’s Fund, March 26^th 2015.

There is an Executive Summary.

There is also an online presentation.

Part One of this report was about NHS Reform.

BBC News comment and analysis:

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Reference

Triggle, N. (2015). NHS problems ‘at their worst since 1990s’. London: BBC Health News, March 26^th 2015.

Performance dropped to the lowest level for a decade (according to one narrow measure), as the NHS in England missed the four-hour A&E waiting time target over a three-month period.

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Reference

Triggle, N. (2015). A&E waiting in England hits new worst level. London: BBC Health News, April 7^th 2015.

Cancer Treatment

See also, with specific reference to standards relating to cancer treatment:

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Reference

Triggle, N. (2015). Is cancer care at a crossroads?. London: BBC Health News, March 25^th 2015.

This relates to:

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Reference

UK cancer survival rates “stuck in the 1990s” says charity. London: Macmillan Cancer Support, March 24^th 2015.

July 2015 Update:

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Reference

Triggle, N. (2015). Cancer diagnosis ‘within four weeks’ under new care plan. London: BBC Health News, July 19^th 2015.

Cancelled Elective Operations

The number of cancelled elective operations and breaches of the relevant waiting-time standards have risen, but NHS England suggests these cancellations were relatively low given unprecedented demand.

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Reference

Surge in cancelled operations in England. London: BBC Health News, May 15^th 2015.