Director of Strategy and Commissioning of the NHS London Strategic Health Authority, and former Number 10 health advisor, Paul Corrigan highlights the importance of demonstrating value to the NHS.

Writing in his blog “health matters” on 11 May 2012 he expresses the need to invest in patient health literacy to help people look after their own health which would, “as a consequence, add value to the NHS” by saving resources in the health system.

Whilst Mr Corrigan has no doubt that encouraging patients to look after their health is a good thing for them and the NHS, his point is that money has to be spent on interventions to educate people and so a concrete economic case therefore is needed.

In order to demonstrate the economic case for the self care intervention, the project has to show it has secured savings that would otherwise have been spent on care in the NHS. For example, self care intervention has avoided a visit to A&E or having to provide an emergency bed. These savings demonstrate value to the NHS and the money that would have otherwise been spent on the emergency bed will actually have to be saved according to Mr Corrigan, in order to provide the economic case and prove the intervention worked.

In his blog he says “in this way investment in a group of patients who would otherwise cost a lot of resource can demonstrate how it will save the NHS real resource”.

For the full article go to: http://www.pauldcorrigan.com/Blog/?p=1299

Quotes from the blog:

“Increasing the capacity of people who live chaotic lives to manage their own health is an enormous prize both for themselves and for the NHS as a whole.”

“Co-production of health care is a good thing for patients. It empowers them and gives them more influence over their health care.”

“Co-production of health care creates economic value in health care which will eliminate expensive costs that the NHS cannot afford.”