News / Spending and outcomes ‘not linked’

PCTs with higher primary care spending have no better outcomes than those that spend less, according to the Audit Commission.

In a health data briefing, the Commission says the latest programme budget information from the Department of Health shows a wide variation in primary care spending in 2006/07 – from more than £600 per head to less than half that amount.

Though it acknowledged the time lag between investment and outcome, and that there might be data problems as this was the first year the figures were collected, the Commission said it might expect the higher-spending PCTs to have better mortality rates, but this was not the case.

It did, however, find a significant link between spending and disease prevalence. Higher spending was associated with higher disease prevalence.

Higher spenders tended to have a greater proportion of their population with coronary heart disease, for example. The higher spending could be explained by PCTs attempting to treat the disease rather than invest in prevention.

Another explanation was that more GPs in an area could mean more disease diagnosed. The Commission said there was evidence for both explanations.