The Institute for Fiscal Studies said growth in hospital activity had far outstripped increases in staffing over the last year, suggesting new workers were being put to good use – even if this had not yet made a big dent in treatment waiting lists.
Restoring the National Health Service is one of the five missions of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, elected in a landslide in July.
Last month finance minister Rachel Reeves announced sharp increases in tax, spending and borrowing to repair public services, which a vast majority of Britons say are in a poor state.
“While undoubtedly positive news, we should remember that NHS productivity is still below where it was pre-pandemic and will require a further period of improvement before the post-pandemic productivity hit is fully unwound,” Olly Harvey-Rich, research economist at the IFS.
“Nonetheless, this is a welcome development, particularly as the NHS heads into winter.”
The IFS said the number of consultants in NHS England had grown by 3.6% in January to July 2024 compared with a year previously, and there were 6.4% more nurses and health visitors too. But growth in services was much stronger, with elective admissions up by 10.3% and outpatient appointments rising 9.2%.
Overall public sector productivity, dominated by healthcare and education, last year stood around 3% below its level of 1997, according to official data.
Earlier this year, NHS England cited several factors for the drop in productivity, including: strikes, temporary staffing costs, changing needs of patients and past real-terms cuts to healthcare investment that had harmed the resilience of the NHS.
Source: Economy - investing.com
