Hospital trust seeks £8m bailout to tackle deficit

2 hours ago

Anttoni James NumminenLocal Democracy Reporting Service

The NHS trust which runs Scarborough Hospital and York Hospital reported an £18.4m deficit at the halfway point of the financial year

LDRS/Anttoni James Numminen A hospital building which reads "Scarborough Hospital Main Entrance" with an ambulance service minibus parked outside. — The NHS trust which runs Scarborough Hospital and York Hospital reported an £18.4m deficit at the halfway point of the financial year

A hospital trust is seeking an £8m support package from NHS England to help tackle a growing deficit and deliver planned savings, a meeting has heard.

The York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust reported an adjusted deficit of £18.4m at the halfway point of the financial year, about £9.2m behind its planned position.

For the full year, the organisation was forecasting a deficit of £30.5m under its mid-range scenario and £45.5m under its worst-case scenario.

However, enough schemes had been identified on paper to meet savings targets, the trust's finance director, Andrew Bertram, told a board meeting last week.

He said so far, £24.7m had been saved against a projected £31.8m year-to-date position.

Across the year, that equated to about £35m of savings delivered against a £66m target, the Local Democracy Service reports.

The trust said it was waiting for the result of the application to NHS England.

The next few months were critical for the trust's finances, bosses said

LDRS/Anttoni James Numminen A large building reading "York Hospital Main Entrance" with a car park in front. — The next few months were critical for the trust's finances, bosses said

"It's just important that we all recognise that risk is there," said board chairman Martin Barkley.

"We don't want to get to a point come March or April where people suddenly say they didn't know that was happening."

He said the trust's financial position currently sat between the mid-range and worst-case forecasts, making the next few months "critical".

The trust's chief executive, Clare Smith, said the board was focused on reducing spending on temporary medical staff and delivering recovery plans within individual care groups.

"The best we can do is keep focusing," she said.

"Because we know our ability to invest in the future, our ability to recruit our workforce and our services is critical to having a sustainable financial plan."

Trust leaders said they would have a clearer indication of whether the recovery measures were working within the next two months.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.