Productivity of the English National Health Service 2003-4 to 2009-10

A new research study reveals that the productivity of the NHS in England has been broadly constant over the last seven years, increasing by an average of 0.1 per cent per year. The most detailed and comprehensive information available was used to compare growth in the total amount of resources (input) used to produce health care provided to NHS patients (output). The research shows that between 2003/4 to 2009/10 the number of staff has increased by 18 per cent, buildings and equipment by 24 per cent and all other inputs, such as clinical supplies and energy costs, by 76 per cent. There has also been a corresponding increase in both the quantity and quality of output. The number of patients treated in hospital increased from 12.1m to 15.6m; outpatient attendances from 50m to 77m; community care contacts from 76m to 92m; and primary care consultations from 262m to 300m. Over the same period, hospital survival rates improved from 99.4 per cent to 99.8 per cent for elective patients and from 95 per cent to 96 per cent for non-electives. Average inpatient waiting times fell from 78 to 57 days, reaching a low of 51 days in 2008/9. Outpatient waiting times fell from 58 days to 24 days. All in all, growth in activity and changes in quality have tracked the growth in inputs, implying that productivity has been flat over the seven year period.