Good health?

Article Type: News From: International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Volume 60, Issue 8

Many NHS hospitals will struggle to deliver their productivity targets,essential to maintaining quality and avoiding significant cuts to services,according to a survey of NHS finance directors by the King’s Fund.

The majority of 29 finance directors from NHS providers questioned said that their trusts face productivity targets for 2011/12 of 6 per cent or more –well above the level required across the NHS as a whole to deliver the £20 billion in efficiency savings needed by 2015.

In total 27 said their trust has a productivity target of 4 per cent or more,with 13 of these having targets of 6 per cent or more – all of them from provider organisations.

Overall half the finance directors were uncertain of meeting their targets,including eight of the 13 with targets of 6 per cent or more.