NHS In Financial Crisis

I'm sure we all remember the article in the Telegraph by David Prior, Chairman of CQC;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/10612450/NHS-care-watchdog-warns-of-alarming-culture.html

There was much debate on twitter about it, with most calling into question the political motivation behind it. There is no doubt in my mind that David Prior overstepped the mark.

However, I was more concerned about the nuance of the article whereby David Prior states;

"The NHS will “go bust” without radical change to drive up standards and rid hospitals of a “toxic” bullying culture that damages patient care".

"Without “transformational change”, he says, including greater private-sector involvement, hospital mergers and an end to pointless targets, the health service risks going bust”.

Yet only one of his many statements relates to finances;

"almost half of NHS hospitals expect to end the financial year in debt"

That little nugget of information was almost hidden amongst all of the propaganda.  It was also stated in the article that there was a £330 million hole in trusts’ finances.

Call me cynical but I treat all figures from the right wing media with a great deal of scepticism. So is it £330m?

Figures from a FOI request to the Department of Health paints a different picture in that collectively, NHS trusts (2012/13) are in debt to the tune of £5.1bn.

The DH states in the FOI:
"We have interpreted ‘debt’ to mean the total amount reported by each NHS Trust in their Balance Sheet in respect of bank overdrafts, current and long term loans, obligations under finance leases, Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) arrangements. These are the items most readily identified with the term ‘debt’ in accounting terminology.

Org code	Org Name	Total       Operating revenue	Total Debt
		£000's	£000's
RVN	Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust	194,649	(47,367)
RF4	Barking Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust	439,072	(261,608)
RVL	Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust	358,530	(40,911)
RRP	Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust	190,575	0
R1H	Barts Health NHS Trust	1,324,546	(865,552)
RC1	Bedford Hospitals NHS Trust	223,069	(8,222)
RYW	Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust	249,124	0
TAD	Bradford District Care NHS Trust	135,925	(4,306)
RY2	Ashton Leigh and Wigan Community Healthcare NHS Trust	175,326	0
RXH	Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust	606,159	(37,135)
RXQ	Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust	350,954	(66,761)
RYV	Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust	162,804	0
RYX	Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust	193,341	0
RYG	Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust	205,910	(30,437)
RJ6	Croydon Health Services NHS Trust	243,581	0
RN7	Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust	177,219	(73,263)
RWV	Devon Partnership NHS Trust	140,932	0
RYK	Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust	71,330	0
RC3	Ealing Hospital NHS Trust	234,113	(494)
RWH	East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust	350,574	(8,116)
RJN	East Cheshire NHS Trust	185,752	0
RXR	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust	405,107	(123,643)
RX9	East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust	155,065	(50)
RYC	East of England Ambulance Services NHS Trust	235,594	0
RXC	East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust	387,425	(1,224)
RVR	Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust	343,599	(229)
RLT	George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust	122,531	(1)
RX5	Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust	74,677	0
RY4	Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust	129,108	0
RQQ	Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust	110,581	(14,218)
RWA	Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust	497,193	(61,717)
RYJ	Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust	971,561	(4,373)
RGQ	Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust	236,761	(28,924)
R1F	Isle of Wight NHS Trust	168,776	0
RXY	Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust	172,961	(17,335)
RYY	Eastern and Coastal Kent Community Health NHS Trust	213,850	0
RAX	Kingston Hospital NHS Trust	208,667	(28,622)
RR8	Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust	1,002,529	(211,458)
RT5	Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust	281,926	(8,756)
RY1	Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust	146,710	0
RRU	London Ambulance Service NHS Trust	303,186	(950)
RWF	Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust	367,421	(222,113)
TAE	Manchester Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust	106,335	0
RW4	Mersey Care NHS Trust	208,598	(5,056)
RQ8	Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust	275,234	(158,483)
RXF	Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust	460,870	(327,940)
RYH	NHS DIRECT NHS TRUST	139,265	0
RY3	Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust	124,843	0
RVJ	North Bristol NHS Trust	529,984	(9,456)
RNL	North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	235,326	(52,816)
RAP	North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust	184,011	(134,529)
RLY	North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust	79,598	(14,098)
RX7	North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust	261,390	(80)
RV8	North West London Hospitals NHS Trust	380,272	(63,257)
RNS	Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust	271,319	(669)
RBZ	Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust	220,696	(17)
RX1	Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust	813,301	(21,149)
RHA	Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust	425,742	(16,957)
RHX	Oxford Learning Disability  NHS Trust	23,246	0
RTH	Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust	821,894	(292,809)
RW6	Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	569,981	(71)
RK9	Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust	405,853	0
RHU	Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust	451,946	(253,311)
RQW	Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust	184,592	(1,433)
REF	Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust	323,372	(1,601)
RQ6	Royal Liverpool Broadgreen  Hospitals  NHS Trust	440,858	(11,080)
RD1	Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust	233,623	(375)
RL4	Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust	385,001	(9,316)
RXK	Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust	433,153	(30,177)
RCC	Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Health Care NHS Trust	31,582	0
RXW	Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust	309,382	0
R1D	Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust	79,694	0
RYQ	South London Healthcare NHS Trust	451,633	(183,264)
RQY	South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust	163,244	0
RVY	Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust	181,123	(8,586)
RJ7	St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust	641,867	(54,337)
RBN	St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust	278,623	(277,953)
R1E	Staffordshire and Stoke On Trent Partnership NHS Trust	372,793	0
RTP	Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust	226,042	(328)
RDR	Sussex Community NHS Trust	188,015	(501)
RY8	The Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust	188,435	0
RY9	The Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust	59,353	0
RY6	The Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust	139,943	0
RJ2	The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust	241,490	(50,381)
RY5	The Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust	108,802	0
RAN	The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust	120,809	(141)
R1C	The Solent NHS Trust	192,177	0
RY7	The Wirral Community NHS Trust	66,506	0
R1G	Torbay and South Devon Health and Care NHS Trust	142,186	0
RWD	United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust	422,861	(627)
RJE	University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust	473,629	(348,054)
RKB	University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust	509,243	(285,947)
RWE	University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust	758,742	(13,633)
RBK	Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust	228,417	(147,312)
RWG	West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust	278,273	0
RKL	West London Mental Health NHS Trust	233,798	0
RFW	West Middlesex University NHS Trust	154,205	(39,806)
RYA	West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust	152,633	0
RYR	Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust	367,805	(2,732)
RA3	Weston Area Health NHS Trust	96,800	0
RKE	Whittington Hospital NHS Trust	281,403	(36,463)
RWP	Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	348,811	(79,560)
R1A	Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust	170,870	(114)
RLQ	Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust	175,825	(60,038)
RX8	Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust	209,822	0

This clearly shows the NHS is in financial crisis, not due to "culture" but due to the lack of investment this Government has made over the years.