BMJ  2007;335:529 (15 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39336.545336.80

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Record investment in NHS fails to improve productivity, Wanless finds

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Greater spending on the NHS over the past five years, by more than £43bn (63bn; $87bn), has failed to deliver improvements in productivity that could have led to better health care for all, an independent review has concluded.

The review by Derek Wanless, which has been carried out for the independent health think tank the King's Fund, follows up his 2002 report Securing Our Future Health (BMJ 2002;324:998 doi: 10.1136/bmj.324.7344.998), which was commissioned by Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Although the extra spending on the NHS has led to many important improvements in healthcare infrastructure, staffing levels, and care provided for some conditions, the new report says, the opportunity to deliver better public health has been missed—with the prevalence of obesity in particular now higher than the worst case scenario forecast in the 2002 report.

"The extra resources, accompanied by fundamental reform, have undoubtedly improved . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Ham, C. (2007). The Wanless review. BMJ 335: 572-573 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

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How can we increase productivity?

David L Bisset
bmj.com, 14 Sep 2007 [Full text]

Its easy to increase productivity if you don't assume its impossible

stephen black
bmj.com, 19 Sep 2007 [Full text]