More than 1 in 5 (22%) of hospitals are set to be in deficit by the end of this financial year, according to a survey of NHS Trust finance directors conducted for The King’s Fund’s latest quarterly monitoring report. The finding – an increase on previous surveys – highlights the growing financial pressures on hospitals.
The survey suggests the NHS will struggle to meet its target of delivering £20 billion in efficiency savings by 2015, with less than half (47%) of finance directors expecting to meet their productivity targets for the current financial year. The survey also found that staff morale now tops the list of concerns identified by hospital finance directors.
NHS commissioners are more optimistic, with 61% of finance leads from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) confident of meeting their productivity targets. Nevertheless, 1 in 8 (13%) expect their CCG to be in deficit at the end of the year.
While the survey findings suggest that financial pressures are increasing, analysis of key performance data shows that NHS performance is holding up well. Over the quarter ending in December 2013, the proportion of patients waiting more than four hours in A&E was within the government’s target range of 5%. Although this masks considerable variation in performance (1 in 4 hospitals breached the target over the period), The King’s Fund says that this suggests that most hospitals have managed to cope with winter pressures so far.
Waiting times for hospital treatment are also within target range, although the proportion of outpatients waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment has reached its highest level since 2008 – another indication that pressures on hospitals are increasing.
Professor John Appleby, chief economist at The King’s Fund, said: “Despite warnings about a potential crisis in A&E, most hospitals are coping with winter pressures so far – a tribute to the hard work of staff in A&E departments. However, the growing number of hospitals set to overspend their budgets shows that for some, it is no longer possible both to maintain the quality of services and balance their books. The emerging concerns about staff morale in hospitals are very worrying as there is a proven relationship between staff satisfaction and the quality of care provided to patients.”
