The NHS could save £20bn if it embraced the private sector and made health services more accessible and closer to patient’s homes, a report by the CBI claims.
The CBI believes that in pursuing the £15bn to £20bn efficiencies demanded by NHS chief executive David Nicholson, between 2011 and 2014, there’s a “real opportunity to radically reform” the ways in which health and social care services are delivered.
More patients need to be treated at home and in new high street walk-in centres and given more control over their healthcare, it claims.
There is an over-reliance on hospitals to deliver care, the report says, particularly for the 15 million people with long-term conditions. Sixty percent of hospital bed days are occupied by people with long-term conditions and many of these hospital stays could be avoided.
Walk-in centres would divert patients with minor injuries away from more costly A&E attendance and save over £1.5bn by 2015-16.
The report, called Doing more with less, says making primary healthcare more visible by co-locating services in high street sites, such as Boots’ community pharmacies, would mean patients would raise their health concerns earlier. It is estimated that some 57 million GP consultations each year involve minor ailments, which could be dealt with at pharmacy stores, saving £4.8bn.
The report also calls for improved procurement, particularly from the private sector. Greater use of independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) would save the NHS £125m. “It is estimated that ISTCs will have reduced costs of procedures such as cataract removals, hip replacements and knee operations to 85% of the NHS tariff by the end of their five-year contracts,” the report says.
An improved approach to outreach services would also save money. The report says a number of hospitals are running pilots with BUPA where patients, who only need ongoing antibiotic treatment, are discharged early and treated under the care of a consultant at home. A programme involving just 5,000 suitable patients would save £105m by 2015-16, the report claims.
Greater use of telecare technology could reduce the demand for residential care saving £7bn.
The report warns: “Reductions on this scale, even over a number of years, cannot be delivered through a piecemeal approach. They will require a fundamental change in the government’s approach to delivering public services to ensure quality outcomes are maintained under tight budgetary conditions. No areas of the public sector can be excluded from the drive for improved efficiency.”
A separate report out this week, by healthcare information analysts Dr Foster Intelligence and Healthcare at Home, estimates that the NHS could save up to £1.2bn a year by delivering in patients’ homes more chemotherapy, end-of-life care and treatment for long-term conditions.
Read one consultant’s view on how to make savings.
