Chair's statement on sustainability and financial performance of acute hospital trusts
16 December 2015
A statement from Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts:
It is simply unacceptable that the finances of acute hospital trusts have deteriorated at such a severe and rapid pace.
Some NHS and foundation trusts are only getting by on handouts, costing the taxpayer £1.8 billion in 2014-15.
In 2014-15 almost two thirds of acute hospital trusts reported a deficit totalling £958 million, more than three times the deficit in the previous year.
The strain placed on NHS trusts and foundation trusts shows no sign of abating. With an estimated £22 billion gap between resources and patient demand by 2020, the NHS faces huge pressures to find savings to close this gap but the well of sustainable efficiency savings is running dry.
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