Financial problems strike the National Health Services (NHS) when the healthcare finance has ended up exceeding expected budget during this year's first quarter.
The government is under pressure to provide emergency funds for the NHS after they spent £9.3 M, or $14.2 M in three months, according to findings by the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and the Monitor, which both oversee non-foundation and foundation trusts.
The losses, as described by NHS regulator, Monitor, put the service in a bad financial position that will put healthcare delivery at risk.
Experts believe that the crisis is due to healthcare outstripping costs inflation, despite the Treasury's best efforts to control spending. This has also forced the Department of Health to pay as much as they could afford to keep services going, even at below expected cost rates.
These findings do not come as a surprise to many. While NHS trusts are giving their best effort to stem the increasing financial deficits, the pressure of patient demands, a high amount of underpaid staffing costs and lack of funding make it difficult for the organization to cope.
"These results are not a surprise. Providers have been flagging their rapidly deteriorating financial position for more than two years now," said Chris Hopson, NHS Providers chief executive.
Other NHS managers, bosses and medical organizations urge the government to provide as much of the promised £8 B ($12.2 B) as possible. In light of these grim figures, many healthcare leaders fear the possibility of service providers becoming bankrupt and healthcare standards may start deteriorating in compensation.
"Deficits on this scale are unaffordable and unsustainable. Lack of financial control poses risks for both quality of care and government finances," said economist Anita Charlesworth of the Health Foundation.
Health secretary Heidi Alexander believes that this deterioration in NHS' finances should be a problem that the government will take seriously, especially since these actions are directly the result of their policies.
"The alarming deterioration in NHS finances is a direct result of actions this government has taken," Alexander said, citing nursing training cuts that resulted in nurse staff shortage as one of the core problems. "With a difficult winter approaching, hospitals are facing a stark choice between balancing the books and delivering safe care."
Photo: Davide D'Amico | Flickr
