17.10.16
Three more trusts placed in financial special measures
Three further NHS trusts have been placed in financial special measures by NHS Improvement (NHSI) after failing to keep up with their agreed control totals.
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS FT, and Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust are forecasting a combined deficit of over £73m.
NHSI said “very serious failings” in financial governance at Gloucestershire Hospitals would also need to be corrected.
Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHSI, said: “The financial performance of these three trusts has simply not been good enough and so we’re sending in some targeted support to identify what the problem is, and help them fix it.”
It emerged in September that Gloucestershire Hospitals would not achieve its set £5.3m surplus at the end of 2016-17 after it was discovered it was not paying suppliers on time and overspending on developing and improving buildings and equipment.
To address the issue, it borrowed £20m from the Department of Health, appointed an interim director of finance, reviewed its capital spending priorities, and began recruiting two non-executive directors with financial skills.
The trust board and NHS Improvement have commissioned a financial governance review to investigate how the situation arose and went unreported for so long. The investigation will publish its findings in January.
NHSI had already agreed an action plan with the trust to address concerns over its missed A&E waiting time targets.
Deborah Lee, chief executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS FT, said: “The board fully recognises the scale of the financial challenges facing the trust and the seriousness of the concerns surrounding the historical financial governance arrangements.
“The whole board is committed to working constructively with NHSI to ensure the trust gets back onto a firm financial footing as soon as possible.”
Brighton and Sussex originally had a target of a £15.5m deficit, which it has now admitted it is no longer likely to meet. The trust has also been placed in special measures for quality since August.
Dr Gillian Fairfield, the trust’s interim chief executive, said: “In order for us to comply with essential quality and safety standards and meet the CQC requirements, as well as meet an increasing demand on our services, it is clear that we now need support to recover our financial position over a realistic timeframe.
“We are therefore pleased that we are getting that support and we are fully committed to working with NHS Improvement to help us speed up our financial recovery.”
The measures for financially failing trusts were introduced in July as part of efforts to cut NHS deficits.
The five trusts initially placed in special measures were Barts Health NHS Trust, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, North Bristol NHS Trust, and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS FT.
NHSI said that up to £100m in savings have been identified, and some of the providers could be released from special measures soon.
However, it said that “further measures” could also take place at North Bristol, including introducing shared leadership across acute services as part of the STP process. John Bacon will also stand down as chair of Barts Health.
The regulator’s special measures include appointing a financial improvement director, taking control of spending decisions and applications for Department of Health financing, and developing a recovery plan.
A trust can exit special measures after one to six months if it can demonstrate that it has a robust improvement plan in place. If it can’t, NHSI can extend the special measures by three to six months.
(Image c. Tim Ireland from PA Wire)
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