RCN welcomes calls for full disclosure of management consultancy costs in health
Published: 05 June 2009
Commenting on a new Health Select Committee report on the use of management consultants by the NHS and Department of Health, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:
"The Committee is absolutely right to call for complete transparency when it comes to health spending on management consultants. With belts tightening across the NHS, it is time for the Department of Health and all NHS organisations to offer a full and frank justification for every penny they spend on management consultants. The RCN found it very difficult to get full disclosure in a number of parts of the NHS in response to our recent Freedom of Information request, and is currently following up with these organisations. It is deeply concerning that the NHS is not open about how much it is spending, even when there is a legal obligation.
With budget cuts on the horizon, patients and staff have a right to know that money spent on management consultants is delivering good value for money, and to see evidence of how it is improving patient care. Just last month, we found that reducing the money spent on external management consultancy could deliver 11% of the expected reduction in government spending on health announced in the 2009 budget, without jeopardising patient care."
In May, the RCN released figures showing that the NHS spent £350 million on external management consultants in the last financial year. More than £273 million of this was not related to direct patient care. This equates to the cost of 330 fully staffed medical wards each with 28 beds.