The NHS has failed to explain how pouring billions of pounds into health services has improved patient care, according to Scotland’s public-spending watchdog.
Almost £7 billion was pumped into the NHS in Scotland last year and the Audit Committee has demanded clarity on how the money is being spent.
But the Auditor-General, Robert Black, said an absence of “relevant and reliable” data made it difficult to know where the money was going. He said: “Overall activity in hospitals is showing early signs of decline just as the service is starting to receive extra levels of resources. There are many reasons for this reduction; for example, changes in medical practice and the success of moving people out of hospitals.
“However, the data collection systems are not keeping pace of changes in patient care and it is difficult to find evidence to explain exactly what is happening. For example, we know there are some patients who are now treated as outpatients where previously they would have been admitted to hospital.”
In the first report on overall performance in the NHS in Scotland, published in August, Mr Black found that the organisation was likely to meet the majority of its targets on reducing waiting times and in the fight against the nation’s high rates of cancer, heart disease and strokes.
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The NHS in Scotland spent £7 billion in 2002/03 and spending is due to increase by around £2.7 billion over the three years to 2005/06, with much of this absorbed by pay modernisation and the rising cost of drugs.
Susan Deacon, the former Health Minister, said that more had to be done to monitor the redesign of health services in Scotland. “I welcome the observations of Audit Scotland . . . but I wonder how we can accelerate this process of getting an accurate picture,” she said.