Funding and failing trusts in UK

admin · Dec 16, 2005

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Two articles in todays British Medical Journal:

Primary care trusts should delay treatment to cut deficits

Primary care trusts should tell hospitals to "go slow" and delay inpatient treatments for up to six months in a bid to cut financial deficits to zero before the end of the financial year, the health secretary has said.

Patricia Hewitt, under questioning from the parliamentary health select committee last week, said all trusts were expected to balance their books before the end of March, even if that meant deliberately delaying operations. The government's target on waiting times is that by the end of this month no patient should be waiting longer than six months for inpatient treatment.

Ms Hewitt said that even if hospitals had the capacity to cut waiting times even further it would "make sense" for financially troubled trusts to maintain these waits while deficits were reduced.

She said, "In some parts of the country hospitals could go faster than we have asked them to; some would dearly love to get rid of waiting lists. But... it will make sense for PCTs [primary care trusts] to say to hospitals to slow down. That would still mean a maximum six months' wait for inpatient treatment. But I'm not prepared to say that trusts should go beyond that if they have financial problems. Trusts have to live within their means."

The NHS is currently forecasting debts of around £620m ($1090m; 920m) for the current financial year, although the government aims to reduce the deficit to £200m by the end of the year. Ms Hewitt said she seriously expected trusts to reduce deficits. ...
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Government must set up mechanism to save failing trusts

Pressure on NHS staff to maintain good care of patients will only get worse as the financial burdens on trusts grow, says a new report from the health policy think tank the King's Fund.

The report, published last week, warns that over the next few years a fifth of trusts are highly likely to have "large and persistent debts" that will put them at risk of failing.

These debts are avoidable if the government urgently installs proper mechanisms to deal with hospital failures, says the report's author, Keith Palmer, a senior associate at the King's Fund.

Dr Palmer says the NHS should have a more flexible financial regime to allow trusts to adapt to emerging financial imbalances without compromising the quality of care.

More than a quarter of trusts in England had deficits in 2004-5, despite record levels of funding, and the deficit for the NHS is forecast to be £620m by next April. Dr Palmer is concerned that new health reforms, such as practice based commissioning, payment by results, and choice for patients—all of which have yet to be fully implemented—could make matters worse. ...
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davidh · Dec 16, 2005

Admin said:

Two articles in todays British Medical Journal:

Government must set up mechanism to save failing trusts
Click to expand...

Meanwhile we worry about FHPs, and one professional body (the SCP) debates in Council on whether their members should adpt the honorary title of "Doctor".
:eek:

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davidh Podiatry Arena Veteran

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