Shropshire hospitals face even bigger spending gap
Hospital chiefs have vowed to tackle their overspending after being warned they are heading for a deficit of £2 million more than planned.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs Shropshire's two main hospitals, could lose up to £19.2 million by the end of the current financial year if spending continues at its current rate, a trust board meeting was told.
Emergency admission pressures and the need to use agency staff are among the reasons blamed for the high level of spending.
It comes after £1.349 million was spent on agency staff at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital in August alone.
The trust had initially forecast a deficit of £17.2 million for 2015/2016, and the new predicted figure is £4 million greater than the £15.2 million deficit target set by the Trust Development Authority over the summer. Bosses say steps are now being taken to tackle the financial issue.
Neil Nesbit, acting chief executive and finance director of the trust, said: "Currently we are behind financial plan with a budgeted £17.2 million deficit looking more like £19 million at year end.
"We need to find significant savings before March – and alongside this we've been set limits on agency staffing spend.
"We need to make between £4 million and £5 million worth of savings over the remaining seven months of the year.
"Our care groups have put forward ideas for addressing the gap. Of the £4.5 million suggestions, we have high confidence of delivery of about £2 million."
Hospital trusts in Shropshire have been ordered to cap spending on agency nurses.
SaTH has been told by the regulator Monitor it must keep its spending on agency nurses to below eight per cent of its annual nursing budget for the rest of the financial year. Sarah Bloomfield, director of nursing at the trust, said: "I recognise the need for us to meet financial requirements but there needs to be a balance."
l At a meeting of Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust in Whitchurch yesterday it was also identified that the trust needed to cut down on agency spending.
It was revealed the trust had so far this financial year spent £3.09 million on agency staff. Board members agreed to continue to review their agency usage.
