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    NHS finances improve, but some trusts struggle

    Posted on 23/10/2007

    Almost a third of NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England are still failing to offer value for money, according to an annual review of finances published today.

    The report by the Audit Commission found that the NHS moved from a £547 million deficit to a £515 million surplus in 2006-7.

    However, 104 trusts (31%) failed to meet minimum standards for their use of NHS resources, down from 39% in the previous year. 27 of these also failed to meet other tests for financial management, financial standing and value for money.

    Chief executive of the commission Steve Bundred remarked that the poorest performers were unlikely to 'get out of trouble by themselves'.

    He added: 'Trusts that fail to manage their money well are unlikely to be doing their best for patients. There is a worrying gap between the top performers and those still failing to meet their duty to balance their books.'

    The commission also found that trusts that had recently merged were less well represented in the top performing categories. Nigel Edwards of advocacy group the NHS Confederation said that this provided 'stark evidence of the cost of reorganisations'.

    'Most political parties recognise that further NHS reorganisation would be counter-productive,' he said. 'In future we must be crystal clear about the benefits before embarking so quickly on such large scale structural change.'



    Category: Healthcare


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