Health Foundation’s response to Health Select Committee’s report on managing care of long-term conditions

The government’s Health Select Committee has today (Thursday 3 July) released a publication on ‘Managing the care of people with long-term conditions’ which outlines how the NHS must change to support the care planning for long-term conditions. Such conditions include diabetes, arthritis and asthma which account for 70% of the annual expenditure of the NHS in England.

The Health Foundation has supported a vision for a more person-centred care health system for the last decade.

Anita Charlesworth, Chief Economist at the Health Foundation, comments: 'We agree with the analysis of the additional funding required to meet the increasing demographic and cost pressures on the NHS from patients with long term conditions. The predicted £4bn needed by the NHS each year by 2016 will obviously be a challenge for services. One way of encouraging a person-centred approach across the NHS is through payment and incentive systems. This has an important role to play in delivering productivity gains and efficiency savings. There is a risk however, if prices are set too low, that providers will be unnecessarily destabilised, quality will be threatened and genuine productivity improvements missed as providers seek to balance their budget with short-term cost cutting. Giving providers and commissioners a stable and predictable financial environment will support them in taking a more person-centred approach.'

Media contact

Mike Findlay, Media Manager
T: 020 7257 8047
E: mike.findlay@health.org.uk