Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue guidance to NHS trusts on ensuring future reductions in frontline staff numbers are not made for the purpose of reducing trusts’ deficits.

Ben Gummer

The National Health Service has taken a number of steps to reduce trusts’ deficits. We have introduced tough new financial controls to cut down on waste in the NHS – including clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies and expensive management consultants, and introducing central procurement rules.

We are also introducing a £2.1 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund in 2016/17 to support providers to move to a financially sustainable footing. This will give the NHS the space to transform services so they are world class for decades to come.

The purpose of these actions is to put NHS finances on a sustainable footing to ensure high quality care, now and in the future.

Trusts should focus on the numbers and skillmix needed to deliver quality care, patient safety and efficiency, taking into account local factors such as acuity and casemix.

Two communications to NHS trusts (a letter on safe staffing and efficiency dated 13 October 2015 from NHS Improvement, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; and a letter dated 15 January 2016 from Chief Executive-designate of NHS Improvement, Jim Mackey, and the CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards) asked trusts to consider quality and finances on an equal footing in their planning decisions; stated that it is not the case that NHS trusts could only achieve their financial targets at the expense of quality, or that improving quality is more important than staying in financial surplus; and emphasised that responsibility for staffing rests (as it has always done) with trust boards.