By Richard Johnstone | 24 February 2014
Foundation trust hospitals have fallen behind on their efficiency savings target in the current financial year, and an increasing number of trusts are running a financial deficit, a report by Monitor has found.
Following an examination of the financial performance of the 147 foundation trusts in England in the first nine months of 2013/14, the health regulator said hospitals were ‘holding up’ against clinical targets amid the winter pressures in the service. Fewer hospitals had missed waiting time targets this winter compared to the previous year.
However, there was a need to improve financial performance in the last three months of the year, as savings targets were not being reached, Monitor’s financial reporting director Jason Dorsett said.
Overall, savings worth £867m had been made to the end of December, but this is £185m behind what was planned at this stage in the sector, which makes up two-thirds of the total number of hospitals in the NHS.
In addition, there were 39 trusts in deficit, which is both more than expected – only 24 were projected to be making a loss – and nearly double the 21 trusts that were in deficit at the same time last year. The combined deficit of these trusts was also around £12m higher than expected, at £180m.
‘All trusts need to up their game in delivering efficiency savings this year in order to maintain and improve the quality of care for patients, and ensure the sustainability of services,’ Dorsett said.
‘The foundation trust sector is doing remarkably well in tough circumstances but is looking a little frayed at the edges. Trusts have responded well to the challenge of accident and emergency pressures this winter, such as finding beds to admit patients from A&E when there have been delays in discharging other patients.’
