NHS Capital Allocations For 2006/7 - £2bn Of Funding Includes A 50% Cash Boost For The Mental Health Estate, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Men's health;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 16 Feb 2006 - 18:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt today announced details of an allocation of over £2bn of capital investment for the next financial year.

Capital funding is used to acquire and modernise land, buildings and equipment in the NHS and it can only be used for these purposes. These NHS allocations represent an overall increase of 19% over 2005/06 which matches the growth in capital funding awarded for Health in the 2004 Spending Review. The overall growth in the NHS allocation is made up of a 25% increase in operational capital investment which goes directly to NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts and a 13% growth in strategic capital which goes to Strategic Health Authorities for larger projects.

This extra investment is particularly good news for mental health trusts who receive a 50% average increase in operational capital compared to the previous financial year, this is double the level of increase in operational capital nationally. This reflects the need for more rapid modernisation of mental health services where the estate is on average older than other parts of the NHS. This funding goes directly to the Mental Health Trusts and so will allow local decision making to determine how best to modernise facilities.

This money will also help trusts to maintain investment in cancer and diagnostic equipment and facilities. Over 1,200 items of modern diagnostic and treatment equipment for cancer have been delivered since April 2000; this extra money will allow the NHS to continue these improvements for cancer patients.

Capital allocations to NHS Trusts, PCTs and SHAs are not ring-fenced for specific purposes. Local NHS staff decide on the right level of local investment to deliver improvements required for national targets and local priorities - for example, investment in scanners and other diagnostic equipment, to help make sure that by 2008 no patient waits longer than 18 weeks in their whole journey from GP surgery door to treatment.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:

"In 1997 we embarked on the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the NHS. Since 1997 the NHS has opened or begun construction on 88 new hospital schemes - including mental health and community facilities - and a range of specialist schemes. In addition, nearly 3,000 GP premises have been refurbished or replaced and over 500 one stop centres established.

"Local NHS staff, who know the needs of local patients best, are best placed to make decisions about how to use this capital for investment in land, buildings and equipment. For example, this money will help the NHS modernise mental health services in North Derbyshire and South East London, modernise the children's hospital in Bristol, and provide an extra building at Northampton General Hospital.

"These capital allocations support the £64billion revenue allocations made to the NHS in 2006/07. These levels of growth will help deliver modern, safe and efficient services across the NHS.

"I know that there are pressures in a small minority of trusts and I have taken decisive action to help turn around the finances of those trusts with the greatest problems. We cannot let this divert from the continued need for investment and modernisation across the NHS as a whole. If the financial situation in some areas dictates that the full programme of investment is not possible in 2006/7, capital funding is not lost: it will be made available in subsequent years for affordable projects which demonstrate value for money for the taxpayer. This allows trusts to plan their finances properly and consider the impact of our recent White Paper on their capital investment plans, such as any longer-term plans to build community hospitals.

"We are making huge changes to the NHS, reforming the system, changing the way we work, and providing more convenient care, closer to patients' homes. At the same time, it's important that we continue to provide the funding to modernise NHS buildings and equipment, for the benefit of patients in the long term as well as the short term. Investment in the NHS estate is investment in the future of the NHS."

- Government departments receive their spending settlements from HM Treasury separated into revenue and capital funding. The two currencies are clearly separate and must be managed accordingly. Departments must live within both their revenue and capital settlements.

- NHS organisations receive clear allocations for both revenue and capital, which are not interchangeable. Governance and financial management in DH and the NHS makes a clear distinction between revenue and capital spending. These arrangements ensure that capital investment is not squeezed out to support revenue expenditure.

- All NHS Trusts, Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) will be receiving capital allocations for 2006-07. NHS Trusts and PCTs will each receive Operational Capital for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing their existing capital stock. SHAs will receive Strategic Capital to distribute at their own discretion within their health economy for larger scale investments. Strategic Health Authorities manage the distribution of strategic capital on to NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts in their patches by prioritising business cases for capital investment (such as new hospitals).

- NHS Trusts, PCTs and SHAs have received a collective increase in capital of 19% over 2005-06, split between operational and strategic capital as follows:

Operational capital to NHS Trusts and PCTs - 25% increase over 2005-06

Strategic Capital to SHAs - 13% increase over 2005-06

- A list of NHS organisations and their capital allocations is available on the DH website at http://www.dh.gov.uk.

- NHS Foundation Trusts do not receive direct capital allocations. Foundation Trust capital investment is financed locally through cash generated by each Foundation Trust from income for activity or through interest bearing loans.

- Examples of locally planned uses for this money are:

In North Derbyshire, £9m of this capital will be invested in improving the way mental health services for older people are provided. At the centre of the development are two new wards housing 40 single occupancy beds at Walton Hospital in Chesterfield. This development will result in a more user-focused service provided in the most appropriate environment in accordance with best practice guidelines. In line with the white paper "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say" this facility will also provide vital support for carers as well as patients.

In Bristol, £6m of this capital will fund a new extension at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. This will allow the transfer of acute children's services from the Woodlands unit at Southmead Hospital, as the first phase of a process of centralisation of paediatric services, which is a vital part of the agreed strategy to modernise and develop sustainable health services for the city of Bristol.

A £14m single building development at Northampton General Hospital will provide an inpatient renal unit and an interventional cardiology centre. This is an important strategic development in line with local priority that will provide local access to these services. The project also includes the re-provision of nuclear medicine, a primary diagnostic imaging service, within the building. This will provide more effective equipment, improved facilities and an expansion of the service to meet growth in demand. This project has been developed within the wider strategic context of the requirements of the NHS Plan and national targets and strategies.

For Oxleas NHS Trust, 2006/07 will be the first year of a three year £25m project to further modernise the mental health and learning disability facilities at the Memorial and Goldie Leigh Hospitals in South East London.This project allows for the redevelopment, re-provision and relocation of a range of adult and older adult mental health and learning disability services in modern, fit for purpose facilities. It will provide much needed improvements to the infrastructure at these sites, improving the functionality and effectiveness of the estate. This is an important strategic development that meets the national requirements set out in the "National Service Framework for Mental Health" and "Valuing People: A new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century".

At York Hospital, a further £2.9m of this funding will be invested during 2006/07 as part of the continuing upgrade of surgical specialties. The creation of twenty 23-hour stay beds to support the Day Unit will allow an extended range of day case procedures. An improved Critical care Unit will increase capacity, contributing to shorter waits for some surgery. Improvement of Ward block sanitary accommodation will provide better privacy and dignity. All of these improvements will provide a modern environment for patient care, and reduce the risk of hospital acquired infection.

The South West Peninsula Strategic Health Authority together with the Devon and Cornwall PCTs and NHS Trusts will be investing around £24m of their capital funding in 2006-07 on the Connecting for Health programme. The improvements that patients can expect from this investment are:

- An electronic NHS care record for each patient so that information can be accessed whenever and wherever needed;

- An electronic NHS staff record for each member of staff that will support staff training and education to develop competencies in particular areas;

- Electronic booking of hospital appointments, with a choice of time, date and place that is suitable for the patient;

- Safer and more convenient prescribing through the electronic transfer of prescriptions between GPs and other prescribers and the pharmacy; The introduction of film-less diagnostic services (Picture Archiving and Communications Systems) so that digital images can be made available wherever they are needed; and

- The move towards a Single Assessment Process (SAP) across health and social care to enable care to be focused around the needs of individuals and not separated by organisational boundaries.

In Manchester, this capital allocation will fund the completion of a £7m development of a six-bedded critical care facility at the Christie Hospital, a specialist centre of excellence for cancer services. This development will provide modern, fully equipped critical care facilities that will ensure patients can be proactively monitored and managed across the site. It is an essential response to the increasing demand for critical care services resulting from recent advancements in medical practice.

http://www.dh.gov.uk

• Additional
• References
• Citations