03 October 2008
Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust's financial management fell below minimum standards, according to the 2007/08 Auditors' Local Evaluation, exacerbating the trust's dire financial situation.
With a £9m deficit in 2007/08 and an accumulated debt of £87m, the trust — along with the strategic health authority NHS London — commissioned an independent review of its financial management and governance.
The review by independent investigator and former NHS trust chief executive Michael Taylor, published on September 25, gave a damning analysis of failure within the Bromley trust to manage its finances or clinical care. 'Until 2007/08 the trust board did not meet its conjoint responsibilities for effective clinical care and effective financial management. It favoured the former at the expense of the latter,' it said.
The review made 54 recommendations and Bromley plans to implement changes by December. Interim chief executive Michael Marchment said the new management team was determined to transform the stewardship of the trust's finances.
'We have taken on board all of the recommendations, and particularly that the trust needed to change its cost-avoidance policy to a cost-reducing policy,' he said.
The review identified inadequate scrutiny of finance reports by the trust board, a relationship of 'enduring difficulty' with Bromley Primary Care Trust, and a failure to properly monitor a Private Finance Initiative scheme.
But Bromley PCT was given 'performing strongly' scores in the 2007/08 ALE, the first NHS organisation to achieve the highest score on all parts of the evaluation.
PFoct2008
