DT News - UK - Financial problems in NHS alarming

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 16 December 2015

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LONDON, UK: The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a warning regarding the financial situation of the NHS. It comes after the body issued a report earlier this week that showed NHS trusts in England leaving a deficit of almost half a million pounds over the last two years.

The results are a sharp decline from the £722 million surplus of the 2013/2014 period. Overall, NHS bodies have stacked up a deficit of over £800 million over the last two years. According to the NAO, if acute measures are not taken, the position of the service will only worsen in the 2015/2016 period, with deficits further plummeting to over 2 billion pounds.

“Running a deficit seems to be becoming normal practice for acute trusts,” Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, commented on Tuesday. “There is a risk that poor financial performance is seen as the least worst option compared to poor healthcare provision.”

In June, the Department of Health announced the introduction of limits to what trusts are able to spend money on. Over 8 billion pounds have also recently been promised by the government, with 3,8 billion to be put towards healthcare next year.

Morse said that more NHS funding could help the organisation regain financial sustainability, but only if the money is used to balance existing spending. However, more than money will be needed to bring the service’s finances back on track, he said.

“Continued demand for healthcare services means that the pressure on acute trusts will not go away. Until there is a clear pathway for trusts to get back to financial stability, we cannot be confident that value for money will be achieved.”

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