09 September 2005
NHS managers have rejected the Audit Commission's claim that poor financial management, rather than lack of funds, is responsible for the 'postcode lottery' in access to new drugs and treatments.
Chief executive of the NHS Confederation Gill Morgan said: 'Prescribing drugs cost the NHS £8bn last year, an increase of 46% since 2000, and this rapid rise in the medication bill is a major cause of the financial pressures facing NHS organisations.'
Morgan was speaking in response to the publication of the Audit Commission's report, Managing the financial implications of Nice guidance, which found that only one in seven NHS bodies had plans for taking new guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence into account when drawing up their financial plans.
Nice issues guidelines and directions on treatments and access to drugs, and NHS bodies are legally bound to implement the institute's directions within three months of their publication.
However, the commission found that only 25% of bodies can verify that they do so.
Although most NHS bodies told the commission that costs caused the lack of compliance, Andy McKeon, head of health at the commission, said that its research revealed that the true culprit was poor financial planning. He said: 'NHS bodies should be prepared to make sure they have the money in the right place at the right time to fund the guidance.'
However, the report also revealed that Nice has only this year begun to issue cost estimates to help bodies work out budget implications.
PFsep2005
