NHS Productivity Surges: Patients Receiving Faster, More Efficient Care Across England
New data reveals that NHS productivity has risen by 2.7% over the past year, enabling patients to be seen and treated more quickly than ever before. This boost comes as a direct result of targeted investment, cutting-edge technology, and a series of ambitious reforms under the government’s Plan for Change, ensuring the NHS delivers better value for taxpayers while improving patient care.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, acute trusts across England exceeded the government’s 2% year-on-year productivity target, delivering care more efficiently through shorter hospital stays, increased same-day discharges, and reduced reliance on agency staff. Innovative measures, including the deployment of expert clinical teams to underperforming trusts, have further accelerated improvements and streamlined patient pathways.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting commented:
“NHS staff should be spending their time caring for patients, not on bureaucracy. By reducing administrative burden, boosting technology use, and sending specialist teams to support struggling trusts, we are ensuring faster access to tests, treatment, and care for all patients. Record investment of £29 billion is now being paired with reforms that cut waiting times and deliver real improvements for patients.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves added:
“Increasing NHS productivity is essential for better patient outcomes, value for taxpayers, and stronger economic growth. These figures demonstrate the positive impact of our strategy, but we know there is more to do.”
Key drivers behind the productivity boost include:
- Elective care and outpatient reformsthat maximise clinical efficiency.
- Urgent and emergency care improvements, allowing quicker patient throughput.
- Technology and AI innovations, including AI-assisted scribing in A&E, which increased patients treated per shift by 13.4% and cut documentation time by 51.7%. If scaled nationwide, this could free the equivalent of over2,000 full-time GP hours.
- Expansion of surgical hubsenabling back-to-back operations for faster treatment delivery.
- Electronic prescribing and medicines administration (EPMA)systems, halving discharge medicine preparation times and reducing paperwork.
- Digital NHS infrastructure, including the NHS App and electronic referral service, saving staff time and reducing missed appointments, with almost12 million fewer paper letters sent since July 2024.
- Workforce support, improving staff retention and reducing sickness absence, alongside a£1 billion reduction in agency spend.
Elizabeth O’Mahony, NHS Chief Financial Officer, said:
“These results show that NHS teams are delivering more for every taxpayer pound. With smarter technology, streamlined processes, and stronger leadership, we are making care faster and more efficient for patients nationwide.”
The government’s 10 Year Health Plan aims to build on these gains, rewarding top-performing trusts with greater autonomy and investing in frontline improvements such as diagnostic equipment and hospital upgrades. Trusts facing challenges will receive additional support, with senior leaders held accountable for delivering measurable results.
Since July 2024, the NHS has already cut waiting lists by 220,000, delivered over 5 million additional appointments, and recruited 2,000 new GPs, demonstrating that targeted investment and strategic reforms can transform patient care, reduce delays, and prepare the NHS for a more efficient future.
