NHS productivity has grown by 2.4% in the first four months of
this financial year (April to July 2025) compared to the same
period last year, the latest NHS figures show.
Thanks to the government's reforms, record capital investment and
the hard work of NHS staff, the health service continues to
outperform its productivity target of 2%.
The figure, which is based on the output of treatments,
operations and appointments, shows care is being delivered more
efficiently, so patients can get the treatment they need sooner
at better value for taxpayers.
It builds on the 2.7%
increase between April 2024 and March 2025 – and is
significantly above the long-term trend for health
productivity (0.6%), showing the NHS is making strong progress in
its recovery and is on track to meet its productivity
commitments, despite working through record waiting lists,
seasonal pressures and industrial action.
This has been achieved through more same-day discharges, shorter
hospital stays, better use of technology, reduced reliance on
agency staff, reductions in back office staff to reinvest funds
in the front line, improved staff retention, and more surgical
hubs and community diagnostic centres running evening and weekend
appointments.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
This data shows our reforms are bearing fruit as the NHS
continues to outperform its productivity target.
We've sent in crack teams of top clinicians across the country,
opened up more services at evenings and weekends, and slashed
agency spending by almost a third.
It's leading to more patients treated and less taxpayer money
wasted.
We know there's more to do, but these numbers show the NHS is
turning a corner.
There are people questioning whether universal healthcare is
still affordable. We are showing that the NHS, free at the point
of use and available to all, can survive and thrive in the modern
age. With relentless focus on productivity, the NHS can be
sustainable for taxpayers and deliver for patients once again.
The 2.4% growth rate is calculated by NHS England using the most
robust methodology available, taking a granular approach and
focusing on the acute sector where data quality is strongest.
NHS England's measurement methodology is more reliable than
alternative approaches because it uses established,
quality-assured acute sector data.
Productivity is measured across both staff and non-staff inputs
and weighted by how complex and demanding a treatment is to
deliver (for example giving more weight to brain surgery than
cheaper, more routine procedures), giving a comprehensive view of
efficiency improvements rather than simple activity counts.
To track progress, a new Productivity Index is being developed –
overseen by Andy Haldane, former Chief Economist at the Bank of
England - to hold local NHS systems to account and ensure
patients see the benefits directly.
Notes to editors
