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NHS report criticises public health approachDate: 13/09/2007 09:31:56
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Sir Derek Wanless, former chief executive of NatWest, has criticised NHS spending strategies, claiming that efficiency has still not improved enough, with public health issues remaining a key area of failure.
With the government reluctant to commission the research, Sir Derek obtained funding from the independent King's Fund, through which he analysed the effects of massive increases in NHS spending.
While stopping short of demanding a change of direction from Gordon Brown, Sir Derek reported a failure to increase productivity, fuelling concerns that while public health issues remained unanswered, further inflows of cash were merely funding staff increases and pay-rises without rubbing off on service levels.
News was not all bad, with improvements noted in overall patient care and particular praise accorded to the cost-saving initiative to prescribe 'statins', a cholesterol-lowering heart drug, to patients.
Sir Derek was behind reviews for the Treasury five years ago which facilitated the subsequent £43.2 billion NHS spending, but already in 2004 a further report highlighted the need to shift resources to public health issues.
Prevention rather than treatment of illnesses was pushed to the forefront, with problems of poor nutrition, smoking and alcoholism targeted as areas requiring strong awareness campaigns.
Health minister Alan Johnson responded to the new report by announcing concerns over poor nutrition in pregnant women and the subsequent effects on child birth weight, indicating that with public health issues such as these the government "simply can't afford to be the passive observers of unhealthy lifestyles".
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