News / Flory warns against complacency

The NHS in England continued to forecast a surplus of almost £1.5bn in 2009/10, but the Department of Health has warned there is no room for complacency.

The figures for quarter three (Q3) show strategic health authorities and primary care trusts forecasting a surplus of £1.274bn, while NHS trusts (excluding foundation trusts) predicted an overall surplus of £192m.

The Department’s director general of NHS finance, performance and operations David Flory hailed the figures.

‘A strong financial position, backed by good progress on delivery, will continue to ensure high quality services for patients, particularly in the current economic climate,’ he said, adding: ‘We mustn’t be complacent. These are tough times and we are committed to continuous improvement in efficiency.’

The Department acknowledged some organisations were struggling to balance finances. Four PCTs forecast a gross deficit of £32m at Q3, compared with four forecasting a gross deficit of £36m at the end of Q2.

Seven NHS trusts forecast a gross operating deficit of £101m at Q3 of 2009, compared with the same number forecasting a gross operating deficit of £71m at the end of Q2. The Department said this was mainly due to a deteriorating forecast position at Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust.

Forecast gross technical deficits – due to impairments to fixed assets or the revenue costs of bringing private finance initiative schemes on balance sheet – continued to rise.

Technical deficits at Q3 were predicted to stand at just over £1.1bn, compared with £944m reached at the end of the second quarter. At that time, 75 organisations forecast a technical deficit – at Q3 this had increased to 78.