Editor's blog Wednesday 13 October 2009: An outspoken conference

Last week, the second Wellards annual conference - ‘Looking ahead to 2010/11: healthcare beyond the next general election’ - was held in London (declaration of interest - I do some work for Wellards, including writing and marketing / PR support).

A few strong statements were made, and I've themed a few quotes together below here to give you a taste. My full write-up can be found here, in our features section.

On the need for NHS cost-cutting and savings:
"Likely NHS spending levels over the next five financial years will represent flat cash, which the NHS has never had in any one year – let alone for five or six years."
NHS Confederation policy director Nigel Edwards

"Savings cannot be ‘paper’ efficiencies of treating a few percent more patients for the same money; they have to be cash, real cashable savings to pay staff and suppliers. That means the NHS probably have to release fixed costs.”
NHS Confederation policy director Nigel Edwards

“We’re still worryingly far from engagement in this, especially in some big hospitals, where there seems to be a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude – this is coming.”
NHS Confederation policy director Nigel Edwards

“There’s money in the system to create efficiency and get cash out. Lots of services are commissioned inefficiently, and there is real cash we can get out.”
Andrew Donald, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, Birmingham East and North PCT

“We have to stop doing certain things, and that means saying we will stop them. If we stop some services, some patients will have a disbenefit, but we must look at the opportunity cost of that disbenefit to them against doing something else benefiting people more. It’s a challenging debate for health service commissioners.”
Andrew Donald, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, Birmingham East and North PCT

"The NHS may now in places be an overfunded service, if we look at unnecessary interventions … under Tony Blair, the NHS got 42% of all public sector growth, and I don’t know if we got good enough use."
DH primary care czar Dr David Colin-Thomé

On GP practice-based commissioning:
“The corpse is not for resuscitation! Progress has been patchy, and there doesn’t seem to be much traction. PBC is not taking off in any systematic way, it’s not seen as a major vehicle for change, to deliver on QIPP (quality, innovation, productivity and prevention).”
DH primary care czar Dr David Colin-Thomé

On PCT commissioning:
“Commissioning teams need more clinical validity – that gives us more chance of delivering on the challenges of change.”
Andrew Donald, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, Birmingham East and North PCT