Hugh Pym

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With the NHS strapped for cash, there are frequent demands for more money. But could hospitals make better use of resources?

That's the question which NHS chiefs in England are pondering at a time when funding increases are not keeping up with patient demand.

One leading surgeon even says the NHS doesn't need more money - and can find what it needs simply by becoming more efficient.

At the heart of the latest attempts to make the money go further is another typical piece of NHS jargon - "Getting It Right First Time" or Girft. It may sound obscure, but it is now a buzzword around Whitehall and at public policy think tanks.

Ministers and health service leaders are setting great store by this project and hoping it can free up more money for the front line at a time of mounting pressure. A new report from the Girft team has come up with annual potential savings for NHS in England of £268m.

Tackling differences

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Little publicised or trailed, the Department of Health's annual report and accounts were quietly released this week - on the face of it, not everyone's cup of tea or preferred sun lounger reading.

But it serves as an important in-depth account of the state of the NHS in England.

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NHS monthly performance stats are not everyone's idea of a gripping read. Spreadsheets and tables are buried in the NHS England website and hard to find for the uninitiated. But they amount to a vitally important barometer of the pressures in A&E units and the waits experienced by patients for both emergency care and routine surgery.

A set of data due during the General Election campaign was postponed. Correspondence seen by the BBC reveals how politically sensitive this decision was.

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It's June, with some of the hottest weather seen in decades - but the NHS is already worrying about the winter. Sounds odd, but hospital leaders in England argue that if decisions aren't made soon, it will be too late to inject money in a way which will make a difference when the temperature falls and emergency admissions start rising.

There is a hint of familiar special pleading in a new report from NHS Providers - which represents hospital, mental health, community and ambulance trusts in England.

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Money, money, money - it's a familiar background theme across the NHS in England, but the volume is increasing.

Campaign funding promises have been made but whoever forms the next government will find some challenging financial issues highlighted in their ministerial red boxes.

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"Billions more for the NHS," is a familiar election battle cry.

This time, the pledges from the main political parties have been much anticipated because of the warnings about mounting pressures on the service.

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There's always a tension in decisions about purchasing medicines by the NHS.

On the one hand, getting the best value for taxpayers. And on the other, allowing sufficient incentives for drug companies to do business in the UK.

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On general election polling day, broadcasters are obliged to refrain from coverage of campaigning and stick to uncontroversial accounts of politicians voting or the weather.

But there could be an important news story that day relating to one of the main issues of the campaign - the state of the health service.

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Health is always discussed on the doorsteps in general election campaigns.

Labour has long seen the NHS as its defining electoral issue.

As warmer weather and the Easter holidays arrive, the NHS in England is reflecting on what looks like the busiest, some would say the worst, winter on record.

Official figures reveal the stresses and strains being felt during February after torrid times over the previous two months.