National Audit Office report highlights too many hospitals are living hand to mouth

Responding to the National Audit Office's report into sustainability and transformation in the NHS, Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and Economics at the Health Foundation said:

‘This report highlights that too many hospitals are living hand to mouth - juggling financial deficits and workforce shortages. The NHS has had to focus on the immediate challenge of keeping services going, at the expense of its long-term sustainability.

‘Short-term thinking has implications beyond the balance sheet. The sustained financial challenges faced by so many NHS providers have led to widespread staffing shortages.

‘Staffing problems are often greatest in the community based services, which need to expand to deliver a modern NHS that supports people to stay well and independent as well as caring for them when they are ill. The number of full time equivalent GPs in England has fallen by over 5% in the last two years alone.

‘The NHS cannot be expected to continue to find productivity and efficiency improvements without greater long-term capital investment. The health service has a £2.8bn backlog of high or significant risk maintenance, and spending on equipment has fallen by 24% over the last few years.

‘Cuts to capital investment are a false economy. Ensuring that the NHS has funds for transformation, proper maintenance and modern equipment is absolutely vital to delivering improvements in patient care as well as productivity.’

Media contact

Jack Cutforth
T: 020 7664 4623

Additional information

The graph below shows the difference between planned spending on long-term capital investment against the actual spend between 2013/14 and 2016/17.