Labour Party conference: solving the NHS productivity puzzle
Researcher
Productivity gains are perpetually sought after in the NHS, yet remain frustratingly elusive. As demand for healthcare only grows, in both volume and complexity, the need to achieve such wins has never been more important.
At the Labour Party Conference, we hosted a private roundtable, ‘Solving the NHS productivity puzzle: how to unlock real productivity gains’, to explore this challenge, kindly supported by BD. We were delighted to be joined by Kevin McKenna MP – a frontline intensive care nurse by background and a former NHS England national programme strategist – to lead this discussion.
Three key points stood out to me:
Productivity gains must enable staff to spend more time caring for patients
Automation of services such as pharmacy and pathology offer truly transformative potential, as explored in our recent paper Operation automation. From faster and more accurate results for patients to reduced administrative burdens for staff, the potential productivity gains are extensive.
But many in the room emphasised the ultimate purpose of these innovations must be to give staff more time to do what they do best: care for patients. Productivity should primarily be a means to strengthen the human side of healthcare.
It needs to be easier for innovation to be adopted and scaled in the NHS
The discussion identified that one of the biggest barriers to NHS productivity lies in how difficult it is for businesses to enter the NHS market, and for successful innovations to scale. This holds back both NHS efficiency and wider economic growth.
Two potential solutions stood out. First, the Innovator Passport, recently announced in the Government’s 10-Year Plan, designed to streamline the route from successful pilot to scale. Second, the need for targeted national standardisation – a correction of the overextension of local autonomy in recent years – particularly in areas such as digital systems and business case requirements across NHS organisations. These steps could make it easier to adopt and scale innovations, ensuring maximum productivity gains are delivered.
Change only works if you bring people with you
Lastly, no innovation will succeed unless people are brought along in the process. This applies to management, patients, and the private sector, but above all it applies to NHS staff. Cultural resistance to change is frequently an issue in NHS organisations, typically attributed to a lack of time and capacity. Overcoming this resistance is vital for productivity gains to be achieved.
The NHS must therefore invest in change management, and organisations have to prioritise securing staff buy-in to new innovations or changes. This means consulting staff in the design process, addressing their concerns, and ensuring time is set aside for training. Without this, even the most promising innovations risk falling short.