But the power of efficiency is incredible, and as the health system faces unprecedented and growing demand yet is given finite resources, efficiency is the key that can unlock significant patient benefit. If we can free up resources by improving the efficiency with which we deliver care, these resources could be redeployed to deliver more health care.
Data reported by the Health Foundation showed that four million fewer people completed elective treatment in 2020 compared with 2019 (down from 16 million to 12 million).
As well as fewer patients being treated, 2020 saw six million fewer people referred into consultant-led elective care than in 2019 – so-called 'missing patients' – and they remain the biggest unknown in planning to address the backlog of unmet need created by the pandemic.
The waiting list has now reached the highest level since comparable records began and could still grow substantially as these 'missing patients' are added. The Health Secretary recently suggested that NHS waiting lists in England could grow to 13 million people, or one in five of us.
Given that, in the short term at least, many resources such as staff and hospital beds are fixed innovation and efficiency will be critical to tackling the backlog. In the case of the former, pharmaceutical interventions that are less workforce intensive (like Direct Oral Anticoagulants) or which could prevent or delay hospital admissions (like Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines) are an examples. Preventing wasteful expenditure, improving labour productivity, and increasing capacity will also be key.
Our own contribution is a Health Foundation funded study of primary care efficiency, and our first scientific publication has just been published.
