How Can the NHS Account for “Care Correct First Time”

Abstract

NHS Healthcare providers are under constant pressure to make costs savings. There seems to be no way to account for the costs of errors, harms and inefficiencies in patient care. If we could account for these costs then we could create medium to long term plans to reduce the costs lost in the consequences of errors, harm and delayed or low quality care of patients. If we get Care Correct First Time these wasted costs will fall and could well achieve the 5% savings within 5 years. I propose a conceptual framework to allow accounting for these costs wasted on the consequences of error, harm or delays caused by Opportunity Costs in the inefficient way frontline staff have to work to Do Patient Care.