Responding to today’s figures from Monitor and the NHS TDA showing that NHS trusts had run up a £2.26 billion deficit by December 2015, Nuffield Trust Senior Policy Analyst Sally Gainsbury said:
“The crucial point to grasp about this deficit is that it has not been caused by a single one-off crisis or event, but by years of hospitals being paid significantly less than their costs.
“Even if hospitals cut their costs by the £5 billion the government has asked, we estimate it will still take around five years for them to get back into the black.
“In the mean time they will need to be bailed out to the tune of £6 billion. That will have to come from the extra money that was supposed to help GPs and hospitals transform care and introduce new services, particularly for frail elderly people.”
Notes to editors
- Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority’s performance report for NHS trusts in quarter 3 of the 2015/16 financial year was released today, and can be read here .
- Sally Gainsbury’s recent blog for the Nuffield Trust explains how the underlying NHS deficit emerged from a gap between income and expenditure, and why it will eat up much of the Sustainability and Transformation fund intended to support change in the NHS.
- Earlier this month Lord Carter’s review of productivity in NHS hospitals identified £5bn in possible efficiency savings by 2020. Our response highlighted how much this would still leave to do, as well as the risks of pursuing savings in a top down manner.
- To discuss or arrange an interview, please contact Mark Dayan on 0207 462 0538.