Latest NHS Improvement quarterly report projects a £931m end of year deficit

NHS Improvement has released its latest quarterly report on the performance of the NHS provider sector, for the months of October to December 2017. The report shows the impact of ongoing pressures on hospitals, and NHS Improvement is now expecting NHS providers to end the financial year with a deficit of £931m. 

Responding to the report, Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and Economics at the Health Foundation, said:

‘Despite a sustained focus on regaining financial control NHS hospitals are expecting to end the year with an overspend of almost £1 billion, nearly double the £496m target. This is despite the Chancellor giving an extra £337m in the Autumn Budget.

‘It is clear that the huge pressures on the health service are also hitting hospital budgets, but today’s figures only go up to the end of December, so will not take into account the full impact of the very difficult winter.

‘In response to these pressures, the NHS has cancelled planned operations to create extra capacity for emergency patients. This has a direct impact on patients who need care, but it also hits the bottom line in a system where hospitals are paid for every patient they treat, but at a lower rate for additional emergency care. The serious pressures on emergency care have not only affected patients and increased costs, but also made it harder to deliver planned long-term efficiency savings.’

Media contact

Jack Cutforth
jack.cutforth@health.org.uk
020 7664 4623