King's cuts costs after overspend

Monday, 01 March 2010

By Greg Truscott

BUDGET overspends have plunged a hospital trust millions into the red in less that 12 months.

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which operates King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill, began the financial year with a surplus of more than £15million in April last year.

But its latest financial report has revealed the trust is now almost £4million in the red.

The report reveals a catalogue of budget overspends on nurses, doctors and other medical staff, clinical supplies and drugs at what is one of London’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals that have seen the trust’s finances spiral into deficit.

The figures have revealed budget overspends of £2.5million on medical staff, £1.9million on nursing pay, £5.7million on clinical supplies and £5.1million on drugs.

These and other overspends have seen the trust’s financial health deteriorate from a positive balance of £15.6million in April last year to a deficit of £3.8million in January this year.

The trust has introduced a cost-cutting plan to reduce the deficit by the end of March, ahead of the next financial year when all trusts have been told by the Government to reduce their budget by 10 per cent.

One hospital insider said even basic stationery supplies have been rationed in the spending crackdown.

The source said: “Paper is being rationed and if we want paperclips we have to buy them ourselves.”

A spokesman for the Trust confirmed it had implemented a savings plan but said it would not impact on patient care.

He said: “Our number one priority will always be to deliver safe, high quality patient care, and this is at the centre of our plans to increase efficiency within the trust.”

He said it was too early to predict the end-of-year position of its accounts, but said the trust “aimed to break even”.

To do this the trust will need to make a further £4million in savings between now and the end of March.

Email: greg.truscott@slp.co.uk

For the full story, you can get a full online edition at www.slp-e-edition.co.uk

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