Quality, effectiveness and intelligence decision-making are questioned

London – 9 March 2010 – According to a survey of 1,000 UK residents, more than three quarters (76%) of the population felt that the quality and effectiveness of the NHS will be affected if there are cuts in public spending. The survey was commissioned by specialist Microsoft-based Business Intelligence (BI) solutions provider, 21C, to look at the impact of impending NHS budget cuts and informed decision-making.

Significantly, almost a quarter of respondents are unsure (23%) of the decision-making capabilities of the NHS and 40% felt the NHS does not make intelligent decisions. Only 37% of respondents felt that the NHS makes intelligent decisions about how it spends its money. The reality is that the technology, systems and processes required to proactively make informed decisions are competing for budget in most NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) according to 21C, and it is difficult for PCT’s to decide where to put their operational investment budget.

Paul Henderson, 21C’s CEO explains: “With the threat of NHS budget cuts, it is more important than ever before that commissioners and providers make informed decisions on how health & social care is provisioned. However, while the NHS does not lack the information it needs; organisations have in-depth data from the finance, HR and clinical operations departments; often this data sits within siloed and disparate systems. As a result, releasing this business intelligence to make informed decisions can become a huge challenge.  However it’s a challenge everyone needs to meet.  If organisations have good BI they have an opportunity to make good provisioning, commissioning and contracting decisions which, when taken as a whole across the NHS, can release the millions of pounds that the NHS will need to find.”

Henderson continued, “Business intelligence tools are able to help transform data into smart information; making critical decision-making easier across any organisation. Our Microsoft-based set of business intelligence dashboards allow NHS staff to drill down into data for evidence-based decision-making, therefore driving improvements within the NHS and patient care. In this time of budget uncertainty, making informed decisions is critical, not only for the delivery of good patient care, but for accurate and more meaningful management.”

GfK NOP interviewed, by telephone, 1000 adults aged 16+ across the UK 19th – 21st February 2010.  The data was weighted to bring it in line with national profiles.