England's NHS hospitals and ambulance trusts have £700million deficit, leaked figures suggest
NHS hospitals and ambulance trusts in England reportedly have a deficit of more than £700million – higher than the target deficit of £580m – for the financial year to April 2017.
It’s an improvement on the eye-watering £2.4bn shortfall recorded in 2015-16 – but it’s thought the savings are due in part to the government propping up the system at the beginning of the year with a £1.8bn emergency cash injection.
At £700m, the figure is better than the worst-case forecast of almost £900m that was gloomily predicted at the height of the winter crisis.
NHS sources are said to have leaked the deficit figure to Sky News, just days after the Department of Heath ruled NHS accounts could not be published until after the election because of their political sensitivity.
Trusts have been desperately trying to slash their costs, while dealing with record numbers accessing A&E departments and filling other hospital beds.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, the organisation that represents hospital, ambulance and mental health trusts, welcomed the figures – but urged politicians to deliver more funding after the election.
He told Sky News: “We think that at the end of the year NHS Trusts will have delivered a deficit of between £700m-£750m,” he said.
“If you compare that to last year’s £2.45bn that’s a very significant reduction, and that is due to a lot of good work at individual trust level, including taking out almost £750m in agency costs.
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“The NHS frontline has delivered, we have done our bit.
"What we hope that those standing for election will recognise is that we cannot carry on in the longest and deepest squeeze in NHS history, and we hope that after the election it will be matched by more funding for the NHS.”
Jonathan Ashworth, shadow health spokesman, said: “It is astonishing that it has taken a leak to Sky News for this information to become public ahead of the election.
“The truth is that the government have tried to cover up the true picture of the NHS and now we see why – seven years of underfunding have left hospital finances on the brink.”
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