Capital and NHS productivity
A policy options paper for the NHS Productivity Commission
Investment in capital is a critical driver of productivity across the economy.
In the NHS, the quality, age and flexibility of buildings, equipment, digital systems and other assets shape how quickly, safely and efficiently care can be delivered. Yet capital is often treated as a background issue in health policy, rather than as one of the central conditions for improving productivity and patient services.
This working paper, authored independently by expert commissioners for the NHS Productivity Commission, sets out:
- the challenges around capital in the NHS
- the shifts required in how the NHS plans, delivers and deploys estate and equipment, including supporting new technologies
- policy reforms in five areas to realise a new capital regime.
About the Commission
The Health Foundation launched the NHS Productivity Commission to provide evidence and identify solutions that can drive productivity growth in the NHS in England over the next decade.
This publication is one of four policy options papers each exploring a key driver of productivity: workforce, capital, technology and innovation, and transformation.
The papers have been authored independently by expert commissioners and present recommendations for action in each area. These recommendations have informed the Commission's final report, Breaking the cycle, which brings together the key findings from across the programme and sets out the wider system reforms and enabling conditions necessary to deliver lasting improvements in NHS productivity.
These papers and the report reflect the findings and conclusions of the Commission. Neither these papers nor the report necessarily reflect the views or position of the Health Foundation, or the organisations with which the co-chairs and commissioners are associated. Access the Commission’s content.