12th June 2009
The NHS does not know how much it is spending on management consultants or whether they are providing value for money, according to MPs.
A report by the Commons health select committee recommended that data on consultancy spending should be brought together centrally. Proper monitoring could improve the way consultants are used, the June 4 report argued.
The MPs also said that Whitehall should list the top ten daily rates paid to consultants in each type of health trust, and these should be published annually. Foundation trust regulator Monitor should collect similar information, said the committee. ‘It is important to know whether the NHS and Department of Health are getting value for money,’ the MPs said.
‘We do not believe the present system, which relies on internal systems and the NAO and Audit Commission, is adequate. They do not undertake a thorough and systematic assessment of the value of the work done by the consultants.’
