NHS acute deficit rises to £860m – the Health Foundation’s response to Monitor’s Q3 Report

The deficit for NHS Foundation Trusts has risen to a total of £321m (year to date), according to figures released today by health care regulator Monitor, largely due to an unplanned spend on agency staff of £400m.

Combined with the latest information from TDA (Trust Development Authority) for NHS Trusts, the total deficit for all providers is now over £700m. The situation is most severe in the acute sector, where 75% of providers cannot balance their budget and the total net deficit is £859m (£428m for Foundation Trusts, £431m for NHS Trusts). This period does not include the recent higher emergency pressures caused by the severe winter and flu outbreak.

As a result, it looks extremely unlikely that the NHS can achieve financial balance by the end of the year, despite the £740m of additional funding for services announced in the Department of Health mid-year review.

Adam Roberts, Senior Economics Fellow at The Health Foundation, says: 'Today's figures from Monitor act as a reminder that financial deficit is now the norm for NHS providers. Acute providers are already running a deficit of £860m, before accounting for the extra demand from the severe winter and the flu outbreak. Even with the additional £740m made available for services, the task for the NHS to break even looks increasingly impossible.'

Media contact

Thais Portilho, Senior Public Affairs Manager
T: 020 7257 8027
E: thais.portilho@health.org.uk