Health Foundation responds to NHS England and NHS Improvement’s “Strengthening Financial Performance & Accountability in 2016/17” report

Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive at the Health Foundation, said: 'Today’s "resetting" announcement targets five NHS providers and nine Clinical Commissioning Groups. NHS organisations must live within their means, and today’s action is a calculated strong signal to the rest of the NHS. But getting the balance right between carrot and stick is critical as history tells us. The Francis Inquiry, published only three years ago, describes how radical steps by one NHS hospital – Mid Staffordshire – to improve its financial position had terrible consequences for patient care. With the raft of these "reset" actions, efforts should be redoubled to make sure quality of care does not nosedive.

'The combined financial deficits of the five providers and nine CCGs will be a very small proportion of the overall deficit across the NHS. Many of the issues the NHS faces need to be tackled nationally as they are not within the power of individual organisations to address. For example cuts in spending on adult social care are having a significant impact on demand for NHS care. In addition staff, which is the NHS’s biggest asset and cost. The highest priority must be better workforce planning and management to address the huge costs of shortages, churn and inflexibility of roles, which also erode motivation, morale and therefore productivity. A "reset" on these issues is long overdue.'

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