News / FTN supports status quo

There should be no change in Monitor’s interpretation of foundation trusts’ private patient income cap, the NHS Confederation’s Foundation Trust Network (FTN) has said.

The FTN said it was the ‘least worst’ option in its submission to Monitor’s consultation on the income limit. The now closed consultation was launched after Unison began a judicial review of the regulator’s interpretation of the law on FT’s private income.

The union argued Monitor’s definition was too narrow but the action was suspended by the High Court earlier this year pending Monitor’s consultation. This put forward three options – the current interpretation together with two more restrictive versions.

FTN director Sue Slipman criticised the cap, particularly for mental health foundations, which tend to have their limit set at or close to zero. She said further restrictions to private income would affect the delivery of patient care. ‘The only possible option we could endorse in the consultation is to maintain the status quo. There is a real danger that altering the patient cap is going to seriously jeopardise our ability to deliver on the government’s policy agenda,’ she added.

A report prepared by KPMG for Monitor found that foundations had ‘significant headroom’ under the current definition of private patient income – almost £50m on aggregate in 2007/08 – though 21 trusts would exceed their cap if the broadest-possible definition was used. Trusts told KPMG that a rebasing exercise would be needed if the definition was widened.