The NHS: Where does all the money go?

Part 7b: DHSC's Performance

Body name  Department of Health and Social Security (DHSC)

Place in the wiring diagram: National Body

The DHSC’s function is to “support ministers in leading the nation’s health and social care to help people live more independent, healthier lives for longer.” 

Their Annual Report and Accounts for 2022-23 dedicates 96 pages to performance, so we thought we’d take a look.

Performance is based on five priority outcomes. We’ll start with Priority 1: “Protect the public’s health through the health and social care system’s response to COVID-19.” We find this priority bizarre: What about all the other agents? Should the public not be protected from the DHSC’s evidence-free measures?

This is a perplexing document; TTE wonders whether anyone has read it. Many process measures are reported, such as distributing vaccines, surveillance, running clinical trials, and stuff about PPE stocks that have pride of place. But there’s nothing about patient outcomes.

We are told the government gave £25 million o…