Four foundation trusts have been referred to the Health Secretary for failing to break even, the Audit Commission has announced.
The Audit Commission’s yearly financial report has shown that four FTs have not met their statutory duty.
The foundation trusts are:
- East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust;
- George Eliot Hospitals NHS Trust;
- South London Healthcare NHS Trust; and
- University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust
Four foundation trusts have been referred to the Health Secretary for failing to break even, the Audit Commission has announced.
The Audit Commission’s yearly financial report has shown that four FTs have not met their statutory duty.
The foundation trusts are:
- East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust;
- George Eliot Hospitals NHS Trust;
- South London Healthcare NHS Trust; and
- University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust
The report has also called into question the financial resilience of 25% of FTs in England, judging by their value for money and quality of accounts.
Six FTs were given ‘adverse conclusions’, meaning that the auditors were not satisfied they were economic, efficient or effective in allocating resources over the past year.
The foundation trusts are:
- Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
- East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
- North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust;
- South London Healthcare NHS Trust;
- University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust; and
- Wye Valley NHS Trust
The Commission’s controller of audit, Marcine Waterman said: “This year our auditors are concerned about the financial resilience of more NHS trusts. This reflects the increased risks to the financial sustainability of individual bodies, pressured by the need to make financial savings, managing increased demand for services while improving patients’ quality of care.”
However, Waterman commended FTs for managing to submit their details in time, what with the changes implemented by the Health and Social Care Act.
She added: “We are also aware of difficulties in identifying opening balances for the new clinical commissioning groups, so there are challenges ahead for the 2013/14 accounts and audit process.”
