Yesterday’s surprise announcement by the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, was the abolition of the administrative body NHS England.
NHS England decision
The background to that decision was to avoid duplication of work undertaken at the top of the NHS, thus freeing up some additional funds – in what remains a very challenging economy – to deliver more front line (i.e. clinical interventions) services across England.
The financial savings are estimated to be around £500m. This is not an insignificant sum even in a service that consumes around £180bn each year. That said, £500m represents just one day of NHS funding, so certainly not transformational in isolation.
Waiting list drops again
Which is why progress in other NHS areas is also key. Yesterday the BMA published the latest NHS England waiting lists. For the fifth month in a row the list went down – and now stands at 7.43m.
This welcome news, combined with the delivery of the extra appointments that we featured last month, shows that steady progress is now being made. Yet the reality remains that it could take nearly a decade to return waiting lists even to where they were prior to the pandemic (4.39m) let alone the 2.32m level last seen in 2010.
What now for employers?
It feels like the NHS is now heading in the right direction, but the correction could take years to deliver.
In the meantime, UK employers should seek to deploy all their workforce wellbeing tools (including the targeted use of occupational health assessments) whenever possible. Prevention is nearly always better, more effective, and cheaper than cure. It is therefore in the interests of employers to keep their workers fit, healthy and at work.
About Occupational Health Assessment Ltd
Occupational Health Assessment Ltd are a nationwide occupational health provider.
We provide rapid access to expert occupational health support for businesses right across the United Kingdom. Appointments are available nationwide within two days.
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Please contact us for further information or assistance.