News / Major savings and support help NHS Wales break even

Its annual report, NHS Wales: overview of financial and service performance 2013/14, said service performance was mixed and major challenges lie ahead. It also said that three NHS bodies had failed to break even, leading to their accounts being qualified.

The auditor general for Wales, Huw Vaughan Thomas, said that NHS bodies were finding savings increasingly difficult to manage, despite significant effort. He welcomed the more flexible financial framework, introduced in 2014/15, that allows NHS bodies to break even over three years, rather than one.

But he said: ‘There are still a number of risks and challenges ahead that will test and challenge the NHS to not exceed its allocated revenue and capital budgets. What is clear is that the NHS cannot continue as it is, some tough decisions will need to be made to change the way services are provided and this will require the support of politicians.’

The report said there were positives, including NHS bodies’ commitment to finding savings, progress against some performance targets and the potential for the emerging ideas about prudent healthcare to deliver better services at lower cost. It made a number of recommendations, including more consistent reporting of financial positions, better quantification and prioritisation of capital spending, improved three-year plans, and better understanding of workforce savings plans. ?

  The Scottish government said that health spending would rise above £12bn for the first time in 2015/16. Finance secretary John Swinney said in his budget statement that the £256m increase exceeded the Barnett consequentials and territorial health boards would see an overall rise of 2.7%, a real-terms increase. More than £50m would be targeted at primary care to promote integration with social services. ?

Health secretary Alex Neil said: ‘I am proud we are investing more in the integration of health and social care. This the right thing to do as our health service faces the challenges of the future.’