30.05.14
Foundation trust recruitment up but surpluses plunge
NHS Foundation trusts hired an additional 24,000 members of staff last year, three times what was planned, despite a significant fall in their surpluses, according to a new report from Monitor.
The regulator’s report – Performance of the foundation trust sector - Year ended 31 March 2014 – highlighted that year-end workforce data revealed that the sector wide number of whole time equivalent staff (WTEs) in 2013-14 was 15,889 higher than planned and 24,123 or 4% higher than 2012-13.
Monitor added that most of the new staff were in frontline services, which was, in part, a response to the recommendations of the Francis report and Keogh review, which highlighted care failings and the need for improved clinical services.
The report also highlighted that trusts’ earnings had been squeezed by “pressures on both pay and non-pay costs”. In fact, overall, the foundation trust sector finished 2013-14 with a £133m surplus, but this was one-third the size of the previous year’s £491m.
In response to Monitor’s board report, Chris Hopson, chief executive, Foundation Trust Network, said: “Monitor’s report underlines what our recent survey evidence has shown - FTN members, in 2013-14 and 2014-15, are spending close to £1.2 billion to improve services through extra medical and nursing staff.
“The additional expenditure associated with the recruitment and increase in levels of NHS staff is significant.”
However, he added that many providers have to “pay premium rates” to fill essential posts and there is a “national shortage” of trained staff increasing demands for agency staff.
“Our members tell us they are facing the broadest range of challenges for more than a generation while dealing with an ever tighter budget and rising demand,” said Hopson. “Despite the sector having ended overall in surplus, there has been a substantial decrease in the scale of this compared to previous years. In addition the number of foundation trusts facing financial distress has increased, as has the number struggling to meet operational demands.”
During the period under review, 40 trusts ended the year in deficit, which is almost double the number (21) in the previous year.
Additionally, over the year, 95.4% of A&E patients at foundation trusts were seen within 4 hours. However, performance dipped to 94.7% in quarter four. This was reflected in 34 foundation trusts failing the A&E waiting time target standard in the quarter, which compares with 28 foundation trusts in the previous quarter, but 47 in the same quarter last year.
Jason Dorsett, finance and reporting director at Monitor, said: “The majority of patients attending foundation trusts are receiving quality services in very difficult financial circumstances.
“Times are tough and hard decisions will have to be made to ensure patients continue to get the services they need at an affordable cost to the taxpayer. However, many trusts are taking positive steps such as increasing frontline staff to tackle the challenges they are facing.”
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