Watchdog cast doubts on NHS savings

A public spending watchdog has called into question the NHS' claims that it made almost £6 billion of savings in 2011-12.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said that they can only find evidence to confirm £3.4 billion of the £5.8 billion of savings that the Department of Health have claimed were achieved by freezing staff pay and reducing the fees paid to hospitals for treatment of patients.

In a report released yesterday (December 13th) publishing their findings, the NAO said that there is "limited assurance" that the savings were made.

The savings are part of a pledge to save up to £20 billion by 2014-15 and the report claims that the NHS has made "the easiest savings first" and will now need to build on this if they are to achieve the target.

While making efficiency savings, the report says that the NHS "performed well against headline indicators of quality" but that the Department of Health will encounter a "significant challenge" to ensure standards are maintained across the entire NHS.