Our comment ahead of the publication of the latest financial figures from NHS Improvement

Commenting ahead of the publication of the latest financial figures from NHS Improvement, Nuffield Trust senior policy analyst Sally Gainsbury said:

Whatever figures we see later on today, they must be understood in the context of the additional £1.8bn that will have been pumped into the hospital sector by the end of this financial year. This extra support was in response to last year’s overspending and the difficulties hospitals continue to face.

Sally Gainsbury, Senior Policy Analyist, Nuffield Trust

“Whatever figures we see later on today, they must be understood in the context of the additional £1.8bn that will have been pumped into the hospital sector by the end of this financial year. This extra support was in response to last year’s overspending and the difficulties hospitals continue to face. 

“That means that the forecast deficit for NHS providers by the end of the year will appear £1.8bn smaller than the real underlying deficit. Yet even with that extra support, NHS providers are being asked to cut their costs this year by around 4 percent – twice the rate the recent review into NHS efficiency by Lord Carter found was feasible. 

“Unless the true state of provider finances is made more transparent, there is a risk that temporary ‘sticking plaster’ solutions are offered when the NHS really needs a sustainable long term solution to these financial pressures.”