08.10.18
Two Cheshire CCGs in danger of going £5m in deficit for next year
Two CCGs based in Cheshire have told members the groups are facing a combined deficit of £5m for this financial year.
Following a meeting on Thursday, NHS South Cheshire and Vale Royal CCGs claimed that they will go £5m over budget, with the chief financial officer at the commissioning groups claiming that £1.3m of that forecast will go on ‘unmitigated risk.’
CFO Lynda Risk told members that her confidence in the management of the financial risk for the unmitigated circumstances was “quite risky.”
The unmitigated risk will cover unforeseen costs such as care for patients with complex needs, critical care, and mental health overheads.
“I don’t think you can ever be certain. We’ve had something every year which has cropped up late in the day that we didn’t prepare for, we didn’t know about, and there is the risk around the acute trust as well,” she added.
“So I wouldn’t be totally confident, I would say, but I think we are doing everything that we can to get to the best position for the CCGs.”
The CFO went on to add that the CCGs would be able to meet their budget for the year if they were to receive a full £4m from the Commissioner Support Fund, which is expected to happen. However, because the underlying deficit does not take the one-off payments into account, this would not clear the shortfall in budget.