Context

There have been substantial increases in funding for the NHS, as well as increases in levels of activity and an improvement in the independent sector.

Funding for the NHS has increased from over £55 billion in 2002/2003 to nearly £90 billion in 2007/2008, an increase of 7.2% a year in real terms.

Levels of activity have risen substantially over the past ten years, with the number of consultations in GP practices increasing by around 70 million to almost 290 million in 2006. The NHS workforce in England has increased by 29%. 

The number of first outpatient appointments has risen by more than one million since 2000/2001.

During 2006/2007, the NHS in England saw major reconfigurations of its ambulance services and primary care trusts (PCTs), with the number of PCTs halved. These changes are expected to benefit patients and the public in the long-term, but have presented significant challenges to the NHS in maintaining high quality services.

Our annual assessment of NHS trusts in England for 2006/2007 showed improvements in both the quality of services offered by trusts, and in trusts' use of their resources. Compared with results for 2005/2006, a larger proportion of trusts scored ‘excellent' for quality of services and a smaller proportion scored ‘weak'.

Our assessments of the independent sector in 2006/2007 found improvements in compliance with core national minimum standards.

Download the State of Healthcare 2007 report (PDF 1610kb) (Opens new window)