Better value for health care

In July this year, NHS England issued a call to action to debate the issues about the future of the NHS. Monitor's paper about closing the NHS funding gap is in part a response to this debate.

Monitor correctly highlights that staff will have to work "differently and smarter". However, in general its response seems to me to be much of the same eg. reducing waste and a belief that community care is cheaper than hospital care.

There is some emphasis on self-management of long term conditions, but not enough in general about the potential financial savings of more patient-centred care. There is no mention of reducing over diagnosis and over treatment (see previous post). Monitor is going to have to get a bit more imaginative if it is going to sustain flat funding for the NHS.