In light of the £1.6bn quarter two provider deficits, commissioners and local authorities must work together to tackle delayed transfers of care, Jim Mackey (pictured), chief executive of NHS Improvement urged.
The NHS provider sector – including trusts and financial trusts (FTs) – reported a year-to-year deficit of £1.6bn, Monitor and the Trust Development Agency revealed today in their quarter two reports.
In light of the £1.6bn quarter two provider deficits, commissioners and local authorities must work together to tackle delayed transfers of care, Jim Mackey (pictured), chief executive of NHS Improvement urged.
The NHS provider sector – including trusts and financial trusts (FTs) – reported a year-to-year deficit of £1.6bn, Monitor and the Trust Development Agency revealed today in their quarter two reports.
Delayed discharges are estimated to have cost NHS providers £270 million over the first six months of the financial year to April 2016.
In order to help save costs and meet standards, which proved particularly problematic in A&E, Mackey said: “NHS commissioners and local authorities need to work in partnership with local providers to help significantly improve how they tackle delayed transfers of care – a significant nation-wide problem which is directly impacting on the amount of beds available to clinicians so that they can treat their patients in a timely manner.
“The new measures we [NHS Improvement] are putting in place will mean that providers have a better chance of improving their financial position throughout the remainder of this year. However it is clear – especially as we see the majority of providers now struggling with their financial situation – that the national tariff for next year will need to be set at a level that will create the conditions where NHS Trusts and FTs can begin to plan to bring themselves back into financial balance, which will enable them to focus on what matters to patients: improving care,” he added.
However, Monitor and the TDA said today that they expect trusts to turn the tide on the worsening financial position and end the financial year closer to where they expected to be at the beginning of 2015/16.
