The Liberal Democrats have accused the Government of trying to bury a report revealing how high quality NHS cancer services are being undermined by the internal market’s funding system.

The report commissioned by the Department of Health was finalised in May 2008 but not published until Friday 8 August, the opening day of the Beijing Olympics.

The report finds that system of Payment by Results (PbR), effectively the currency of the NHS, causes hospitals who treat patients requiring complex operations and treatment to lose money as a result.

 The report finds that:

Ø     The internal market as it currently operates is undermining high quality cancer services.

Ø     Patients with complex needs are losing specialist hospitals (like the Royal  Marsden) vast sums of money

Ø     The system actively discourages investment in new technology and in new treatments known to improve patient outcomes

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb said:

“This is a devastating criticism of the problems Payment by Results is causing for the parts of the NHS we should be most proud of.

“This report reveals the very serious unintended consequences of how treatments are paid for. The Government is effectively penalising hospitals for providing specialist care.

“Ministers claim that PbR is rewarding efficiency, but this report shows that it risks distorting clinical decisions about who to treat and whether to invest in new and improved technologies.

“The Government must act on this report now. Its own cancer strategy is being fatally undermined by this flawed funding system.

“The Health Secretary is probably too busy worrying about the leadership of the Labour party to pay proper attention to the warnings in the report about the damage being wrought in the NHS. What other explanation could there be for sitting on the report for three months and only publishing it on a quiet Friday when most people are on holiday?

 “I am writing today to the Secretary of State calling for an urgent review of Payment by Results. There is a clear need for reform of this system.”