The National Audit Office (NAO) is to take a further look at the health of the NHS’s finances, following on from last year’s report which found that the deterioration of the financial position of NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts had been ‘severe and worse than expected’
In the December 2015 report, Sustainability and financial performance of acute hospital trusts, NHS trusts reported a deficit of £843m in 2014-15, a substantial increase on the £91m deficit reported in 2013-14.
Now the audit watchdog says it is launching a project to build on its previous work which will examine whether the NHS is on track to achieve financial sustainability.
The earlier report found that for trusts ‘running a deficit seems to be normal practice’, and said it was not clear whether the Department of Health (DoH) and associated bodies had a coherent plan to get trusts’ finances back on track and to close their estimated £22bn gap between resources and patients’ needs by 2020-21.
The latest study, which is being undertaken over the autumn, will focus in particular on the financial performance of NHS bodies; plans for long-term financial sustainability; and the actions taken by the DoH and its arm’s length bodies to support local NHS bodies to achieve financial sustainability.
The NAO’s 2015 report on sustainability and financial performance in acute hospital trusts is here.
