16 July 2004
NHS organisations in poorer areas will be subject to additional scrutiny of their performance in preventing illness, the Treasury revealed this week.
The Department of Health's Public Service Agreement, published by the Treasury alongside this week's Spending Review, set out national targets for reducing deaths from cancer, heart disease and strokes among the under-75s, but added separate goals for the top 20% of deprived areas.
Not only must the health service achieve a 40% reduction in deaths from heart disease and stroke by 2010 but it must also reduce by 40% the gap in these deaths between the richest and poorest areas.
Cancer deaths must fall by 20% nationally but the gap between rich and poor should fall by 6%. Health Secretary John Reid is known to be 'minded' to reinforce the targets for the poorer areas with Healthcare Commission performance measures.
King's Fund chief executive Niall Dickson called for urgent action on 'glaring inequalities' in health care.
'We would now like to see the government focus its attentions on making health services more responsive to people on lower incomes. One of the ironies of the NHS is that it's a universal system free to all at the point of use regardless of ability to pay. 'But even now it's clear that not everyone in the country is receiving the same quality of health care,' he added.
The Spending Review confirmed a 7.2% real-terms increase in health spending between 2005/06 and 2007/08, by which time NHS England will have a budget of £92.1bn.
There will also be an efficiency drive, with more primary care trusts expected to merge back-office functions and confirmation of the cuts in central administration at the DoH. The department will cut 720 jobs, transfer 1,100 staff to the regions by 2010 and lose 5,000 staff from quangos.
It will also produce annual efficiency gains of £6.5bn by 2007/08, more than half of which will release cash for frontline services.
NHS Confederation chief executive Gill Morgan said this money must be spent on frontline staff. 'We have to be careful that this does not compromise the ability of NHS staff to carry out the largest programme of change in Europe,' she added.
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