Health Care 1

NHS overspends by £300m due to cancelled appointments and rising hospital admissions.

135/238 trusts were in deficit at 9 month point.

Target deficit of £580m by end of financial year. However, forecasters predict it will reach £873m an unsustainable amount.

Local health managers trying to redesign NHS services to run more cheaply.

Costs £2000 per person per month to NHS. 

5 million + people over 75 due to increase in life expectancy, 2 million more in 10 years time. (Panorama)

Economic inefficiency happens in most monopoly markets.

Cost benefit analysis e.g. cancer patient will cost more compare to a broken leg.

Patients will face longer waits for operations such as knee and hip replacements in trade off for improved care in other areas. (NHS England Boss, Simon Stevens.)Demand rising at a quicker rate than expected and so compromises had to be made.

Percentage of patients in England, waiting over 18 weeks for non emergency treatment has risen from 6% in 2012 to 11% in 2016. However what happens if the patient waiting has a heart attack during that period waiting since delays can cause serious consequences. (Clare Marx President Royal College Of Surgeons In England.)However currently more than 360,000 patients on waiting list who have ;i9waited longer than that. Which is 1/10 of total,  proportion almost doubled in 4 years. 3,600,000 total, 1/10 (360,000) of total waited longer than 18 weeks.

GP’s will have to cut number of patients they refer to hospital and use alternatives e.g. physio instead. This would lead to thousands of fewer patients being referred to hospitals.

NHS spends £16bn a year on drugs and medicines. The overall bill has been increasing 7% in the past year.

Roll of any new treatments going to cost NHS more than £20m a year, delayed to give health bosses open talks with the industry on price.The new 20m a year cap on the cost of new drugs will be introduced in the NHS in England, in a attempt to save money, health chiefs announced.

The NHS said will review low value medicines e.g. cream, gluten free foods and some pain killers, which could save £400m a year.

Under new plan widely used, drugs and expensive but effective drugs breach the £20m a year threshold therefore will face a secondary process.

Drug bill increase, 2016 £16.8 bn spent on drugs by NHS up from £13bn in 2011. 2016 - £16.8bn, 2011 - £13bn spent on drugs. Fields (Areas) such as dementia cost NHS billions.

NHS bosses in 2016; capped number of patients could be given a new drug for hepatitis C, to keep annual cost at £200m, (CAPPING COST OF THE DRUG by limiting use.)

Suncream, cold remedies and gluten free food no longer be available on NHS in England under crackdown on low value remedies. NHS England announced review after local health bosses identified £400m spending little or no clinical value.

Includes also pain relief and travel vacancies. Proposals can see ban or tighter restrictions on some products being prescribed by GP’s.

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A number are available over the counter at a lower price than the cost to the NHS of prescribing them or include drugs that are more effective or cheaper alternatives.

Evidence submitted to NHS England, prescribing of gluten free products dates back to the 1960’s when there was no the choice there is now in supermarkets and shops.

Important to reduce spending on prescription items have little or no clinical value. HOWEVER conflict since coeliac UK Chief Executive Sarah Sleet move disappointing’ not all shops and stores stocked gluten free products and range avaliable poor.