Friday, 11.45am: Deficit-burdened Peterborough City Hospital has been declared to be financially unsustainable by national health watchdog Monitor in a report published today (7 June). The £289-million hospital in Bretton would struggle to pay its bills for wages and supplies if it was not getting cash support from the Department of Health, according to the report by Monitor. The regulator sent in a team of experts at the start of the year to examine the decision-making process that approved the private finance initiative (PFI) that paved the way for the hospital’s construction. It followed hard hitting criticism from a committee of MPs about the PFI which has saddled the hospital with repayments of £40 million a year for the next 30 years. Members of the Contingency Planning Team have just published their first report into the financial health of the hospital and will follow it up in the near future with proposals for a solution. A spokeswoman for Monitor said: “The Contingency Planning Team has found Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is financially unsustainable in its current form. “The team has found the Trust is clinically and operationally sustainable. In the CPT’s opinion clinical quality of patient care is appropriate and, on the whole, within expected performance levels. The report states: “However, the Trust built up a deficit of £37 million by the end of 2012-13, and needed one-off support from the Department of Health of £44.1 million. Future financial forecasts “The Trust’s forecasts for the next five years show a continuing deficit of £38 million or more each year, and a cash shortfall of at least £40 million a year. “If there were no further support from the Department of Health, the Trust would not be able to pay its bills (such as for wages and supplies) as they fall due. “Monitor is responsible for ensuring the continuity of services for patients and has been working with the Trust and commissioners to address this poor financial performance. “We asked the CPT to work closely with patients’ representatives, commissioners and clinicians in the local area to identify options to make the Trust financially sustainable. “The CPT will shortly make an independent recommendation on the future configuration of services currently supplied by the Trust to ensure that they are delivered on a sustainable basis for the benefit of the local population.” In addition the report adds: “The estate issues contributed an estimated £22 million to the deficit and include the under-utilisation of Peterborough City Hospital. This figure will increase with the effect of inflation in coming years. The Trust has identified that three additional wards could be sited on the fourth floor of the hospital, potentially generating around £9 million of extra contribution. “Peterborough City Hospital is provided under a PFI agreement that is costing £40 million a year and has 31 years left to run. With inflation, the PFI is likely to represent a greater proportion of Trust costs in future years. However, ending the arrangement would trigger a very substantial one-off payment. “In addition to the estates issue, we have identified that the deficit was partially caused by operational issues (such as £5 million of unpaid medical activity and £10 million of performance improvements which could be made) and are now factored in to the Trust’s forward plan. Stephen Hay, managing director provider regulation, said: “This report clearly shows that Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is not financially sustainable. “We now expect the CPT to advise us what practical options are available to close the financial gap and ensure continuity of service to patients. “Monitor is ensuring the voice of patients and the local community are listened to, and that the health needs of local people will continue to be met for years to come.” Peter Reading, Interim Chief Executive at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is a very useful report which confirms that our hospitals provide good quality care and, today, are properly run. “This is reassuring for our patients and testament to the skill, hard work and efforts that our staff put in every day. “The report also confirms that the financial challenge we face remains perhaps the biggest in the NHS, and that while part of the solution – ever greater efficiency – is in our own hands, more than half of the problem can only be tackled by broader measures across the local health economy and wider NHS. “I would like to assure patients that day-to-day life in our hospitals in both Peterborough and Stamford continues as normal. “Our twin priorities remain – delivering the very best patient care, day in, day out, and finding a further £13m in cost improvement savings over the course of this financial year.”
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 20:47:59 +0000
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