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UNISON, The UK’s largest health union welcomed a new report by the King’s Fund, which shines a spotlight on the potential savings the NHS could make by sharing best practice between staff

The union is warning that government plans for all hospitals to become independently run foundation trusts will only reduce opportunities for health workers to learn from each other. Foundation trusts will be set up in direct competition with each other, making it much tougher to share best practice.

This will not only hit opportunities to make savings, but also to raise standards across the NHS as a whole.

Karen Jennings, UNISON Head of Health said:

“At the heart of the NHS is an ethos of working together in the interest of patients. This report highlights the huge potential savings that could be made by sharing best practice.

If savings have to be made it is only right that they should come from boosting productivity rather than cutting jobs or closing down wards.

“This huge potential will be squandered if the government presses ahead with plans it set out in the white paper last week. Turning all hospitals into independently run foundations trusts, pitting hospital against hospital, will stand in the way of helping staff to learn from each other.

As well as making it more difficult to deliver savings, it will also hit opportunities to raise standards across the NHS as a whole.”

* Improving NHS productivity: More with the same not more of the same, is available to download at www.kingsfund.org.uk

Source: ©Unison

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