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NHS Trusts Rack Up Debts Of Almost £1bn

NHS Trusts and foundation trusts have revealed losses of almost £1bn in the first three months of the financial year.

That is compared to with a total overspend last year of £820m.

And it is suggested the deficit for this year could soar to as much as £2bn.

The figures for April to June show the worst financial position "in a generation", reports from health regulators Monitor and the Trust Development Authority (TDA) found.

The foundation trust sector is "under massive pressure" and can no longer afford to go on as it is, Monitor said.

The main cause of the overspend was due to higher-than-expected staff pay costs and an "over-reliance" on expensive agency staff, it revealed.

Currently, agency staff cost the NHS more than £3bn.

While trusts did meet a target of treating non-emergency patients within 18 weeks, foundation trusts missed a number of national waiting times targets, including the A&E target for people to be seen within four hours.

Targets for routine operations and some cancer treatments were also missed.

The Monitor study covered 151 NHS foundation trusts, while a separate report from the TDA covered 90 NHS trusts.

Of the 90 trusts in the TDA report, 72 ended the financial quarter in deficit, with 75% of those being acute hospital or specialist trusts.

Dr David Bennett, chief executive at Monitor, said: "Trusts are working hard to provide patients with quality care.

"However, today's figures reiterate that the sector is under massive pressure and must change to counter it.

"The NHS simply can no longer afford operationally and financially to operate in the way it has been and must act now to deliver the substantial efficiency gains required to ensure patients get the services they need."

Commenting on the figures, Anita Charlesworth of independent charity the Health Foundation , said: "Despite warning signs that NHS costs are spiralling, as yet there is no published national plan to improve efficiency and contain costs.

"Hospitals cannot do this alone. There is an urgent need for action and leadership from the centre. The NHS needs a radically different approach with realistic hospital budgets, enough trained staff, and sustained practical support for hospitals to unlock potential efficiency improvements."

Labour's shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander said the figures showed "an NHS in crisis".

She added: "The alarming deterioration in NHS finances is a direct result of actions this Government has taken.

"Cuts to nurse training places has left the NHS with a shortage of nurses, forcing hospitals to hire expensive agency staff. As Monitor acknowledges, this is the primary cause of the deficit.

"With a difficult winter approaching hospitals are facing a stark choice between balancing the books and delivering safe care."