News
Leeds hospitals trust says finances are “critical” amid £110m deficit
May 17, 2024
Image caption, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust runs services including Leeds General Infirmary and Leeds Children’s Hospital
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has told staff its finances are in a “critical situation” with “immediate action” needed to resolve a £110m shortfall.
BBC News has obtained a staff email in which senior managers say the fund’s finances are in “serious trouble”.
Eleven hospitals in Yorkshire have identified that they must save £350 million from their combined budgets next year, according to public documents.
The government said it was providing the NHS with “record funding”.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) is one of the biggest in the country, spending £1.7 billion a year.
Staff at the trust’s children’s hospital were told by email this month that senior managers were so concerned about their financial situation that they feared “losing control of our decision-making”.
The email goes on to state that to reduce budgets “vacancies will be maintained for 13 weeks”, except for critical positions, with reductions in the use of temporary staff.
“These are people who are often brought in to cover staffing shortages, so removing them would be very dangerous,” said Sarah Dodsworth, regional director at the Royal College of Nursing.
“This would mean that the minimum staffing levels we see now have been further reduced – this will impact on nurses’ ability to provide safe and effective care and could result in harm to patients.”
In March, the trust’s board was informed that its energy costs were 174% higher compared to the previous year, increasing financial pressures.
In response to the leaked email, Simon Worthington, finance director at LTHT, said: “We have identified the need to further reduce our expenditure on bank and branch staff salaries because over recent years we have made a significant increase in permanent clinical staff .
“This week we have been focusing on how we can do this efficiently and sustainably, while keeping high-quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.”
He added: “Thanks to the team’s hard work and ideas, we have identified a number of ways we can do this to help us close the financial gap.”
Through analysis of documents produced by the other 10 NHS hospitals in West, North and South Yorkshire, BBC News identified that hospitals are set to collectively save £350 million next year.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it faced “unpleasant options” in its efforts to save up to £39 million.
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust’s documents stated that its financial savings plan required “to meet national demands around a reduction in staff numbers”.
Image caption, LTHT also runs St James’s University Hospital in Leeds
Hospital trusts face increasing pressures on their budgets, with a growing and aging population presenting increasingly complex healthcare needs.
The Department of Health and Social Care said NHS funding has reached record levels and was making a “real difference” in reducing waiting lists.
HM Treasury figures show that total government spending on the health service in Yorkshire and the Humber will reach £16.5 billion in 2023, up from £12 billion before the 2019 general election.
Sally Gainsborough, senior policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust, said: “Health spending in England as a whole this year is being cut very slightly in real terms due to inflationary pressures.
“Ultimately, hospital budgets are a political choice – this financial year there appears to be a political consensus from both main parties that significant additional levels of funding are not owed to the NHS.”