NHS: Financial Performance Debate
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Lord Kakkar
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NHS: Financial Performance
Lord Kakkar Excerpts(9 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Prior of Brampton
My Lords, it is worth reminding your Lordships that there was considerable consensus around the five-year forward view. I think that the noble Baroness’s party wholly signed up to it and, along with the Conservative Party, to committing £8 billion of extra money to the NHS over the lifetime of this Parliament. We stand by that. The NHS, in its turn, agreed to find £22 billion-worth of efficiency savings, which I think the noble Baroness accepted when she was part of the coalition Government. That is still the situation so I do not think that we need a new settlement. There is a settlement: it is called the five-year forward view and we are fully committed to it.
The noble Baroness raised the issue of integration. I agree 100% with her and it is an essential part of the five-year forward view—the vanguards are based on it. I remind noble Lords that the spending in the UK per capita on health is $3,200. In France it is $4,100 and in Germany it is $4,800. The NHS does a remarkable job in delivering world-class healthcare, which is rated by the Commonwealth commission and other independent agencies as among the best in the world, with considerably fewer resources than any other developed system in the world.
Lord Kakkar (CB)
My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of University College London Partners. What assessment have Her Majesty’s Government made of the potential contribution of accountable care organisations to addressing the need to advance quality outcomes in the NHS and its financial performance?
Lord Prior of Brampton
I thank the noble Lord for that perceptive and interesting observation. The accountable care organisation is one whose time has come. A health organisation with a capitated budget is indeed the way forward. It will drive the integration that the noble Baroness was talking about earlier on. It is a key part of this Government’s health strategy to support accountable care organisations.