Health Service’s Finance Directors Reveal Concerns In New Research

The NHS must work hard to ensure that efficiency savings do not impact on standards of patient care, according to medical law experts at Irwin Mitchell.

New research by The King’s Fund has revealed that two-thirds of NHS finance directors believe it will be difficult for the organisation as a whole to meet the target of making £20 billion of savings by 2015, with two fifths of them raising concerns that patient care will worsen over the coming years.

It also found that finance directors believe there is now a growing level of pressure on emergency care services in many trusts.

Irwin Mitchell’s Medical Law and Patients’ Rights team represent victims and the families of those who have suffered as a result of patient safety failings in NHS hospitals.

Commenting on the new research, Lisa Jordan, a Partner and expert in such cases at the national law firm’s Birmingham office, said: “These are clearly very worrying claims and we hope the NHS can do everything in its power to ensure that the safety of patients and standards of care they receive are not impacted by efforts to make savings.

“The economic climate unfortunately means that such savings are a necessity and while there is no denying that point, it is still important that the implementation of measures in support of cuts is done in a carefully considered manner which puts patients first.

“We have seen on too many occasions the awful consequences when patient safety and standards of treatment are compromised. Patients and their families expect and deserve quality care and this must remain the priority as the NHS goes through these changes.”