King's Fund commissions a new review of health spending
Health spending in the UK is to be reanalysed by Sir Derek Wanless to see whether extra money allocated to the NHS as a result of his 2002 report to the Treasury is being spent wisely.
Sir Derek will examine the underlying assumptions of his original spending
recommendations and see whether they are on track.
In his 2002 report, Sir Derek said that too little had been spent on
the NHS in the previous 30 years and that much more would need to be
spent up to 2023 to make up the shortfall. It was this that triggered
the Government’s decision to increase NHS funding annually by 7.4
per cent in real terms until 2007–08.
After being hired last week by the King’s Fund to look again at
health spending, Sir Derek said: “This is an ideal time to look
back at the lessons of the past five years to see if the extra money
has been spent productively.”
He is to consider how changes in demographics, productivity, staff pay,
drug costs, medical advances and the health of the population have influenced
health spending and will analyse how the NHS has actually spent the extra
money it has been given.
Sir Derek’s report is expected to be published by May 2007 before
the next Government comprehensive spending review. A King’s Fund
spokesman said that he hoped it would contribute to the Government’s
thinking. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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