Seizing opportunities for realising savings

Examine the extent to which NHS Trusts have made progress over the past year against 10 key steps to “unlocking value” outlined in the previous document. This article is an adapted version of the co-authors’ 2011 paper, NHS Service and Estate Efficiency Report: Seizing The Opportunity.

Like any system in revolution, this has been a very testing and uncertain time for the NHS. We are waiting for clarity around the changes to the health reforms, to accommodate the needs of clinical and managerial staff, and for the fine details on the manner and direction of both the clinical and estate frameworks. This has caused not only operational headaches, but also, in some parts of the NHS, inertia, as staff wait for answers when high-level debates are still occurring. The most progressive organisations are still looking to move forward, but understandably there are others seeking clarity before committing to action. The politicians have, however, already indicated that this political period will be less tightly dictated; and that NHS staff will have to get on with achieving change without recourse to a rule book. In late 2010 EC Harris released a paper entitled: Refocusing the NHS Estate, which detailed ten steps to facilitate radical cost reduction and service transformation (HEJ – November 2010). We have now updated our assessment of the NHS estate, and are in a position to make direct comparisons with progress over the previous 12 months, and with private sector operators.

Facilitating poor performance?