More NHS trusts run into cash pressures

The study from the regulator Monitor found more NHS foundation trusts in England declaring themselves at financial risk than last year.

Of 137 NHS foundation trusts that submitted plans, 11 have listed themselves with the highest or second highest rating for financial risk. A further 10 say they will experience a high level of financial risk at some point during the year. The total of 21 is up on the 13 that made the same prediction last year.

NHS chiefs said they would also struggle to keep waiting times low for operations and in A&E units.

Overall, 57 are predicting risks linked to quality or performance – nearly double the number last year.

Monitor said foundation trusts were on track to meet billions of pounds of savings demanded by the Government as part of its efficiency drive but warned maintaining that would be a “significant challenge”.

Some 61 per cent of planned savings will be met through cutting staff costs.

Monitor’s chairman David Bennett said: “We are very clear with foundation trusts that savings cannot be made by compromising on quality.”

Current ratings show of the 19 foundation trusts treating patients from the region, only the Rotherham hospital trust is facing financial problems. Six more face issues over quality or performance among them the Barnsley, Sheffield, South Tees, and the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole trusts.

Trusts across the region are planning to make hundreds of millions of savings this year. The toughest efficiencies of eight per cent are being made by the Airedale trust.

The report comes as a snapshot survey of 76 primary care trusts for GP newspaper found 60 per cent warning they would fail to hit their savings target further fuelling predictions of mounting financial pressure in the NHS in coming months.