Verum writes: Effective NHS eye cost savings are there for the taking

You may remember last month’s column discussing the challenges facing the NHS, in particular to provide excellent care at an affordable cost. To do this will require efficiency savings, however, the quick wins have already been taken and so there may not be significant savings left. Hence a great deal of reliance is being put on sustainability and transformation plans (STPs), to be the vehicle for real change over the next five years. The current 44 STPs in development across England, should not just be tinkering at the edges to make a few efficiency gains, but really changing how things are done. To use a sporting analogy of track cycling, this is not about shaving a few ounces of the weight off the bike, it should be about deciding whether a bike is the best means of transport.