20 hours ago
'Our priority remain patients and staff' - hospital needs to £37M of savings
Bolton NHS Foundation needs to save a staggering £37 million to balance the books.
Health bosses say they, like other trusts, are facing challenges - but their priority remains patients, staff and the community.
The trust, which runs the Royal Bolton Hospital, reported a £2.4 million deficit in April, with board members told the figure was £900,000 worse than planned at a recent meeting.
Schemes are being drawn up to make these savings, which include the roll-out of an electronic stock system and a Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme (MARS).
Agency spending exceeded NHS England targets, accounting for 2.2 per cent of pay costs compared to the national benchmark of 1.5 per cent.
A presentation from the Finance and Investment Committee said PwC had been approached to assist with evaluating the Trust's financial position.
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It was noted that Public Dividend Capital funding cash has provided a temporary benefit of £2.0m and some other cash has been received in advance.
Speaking at the board meeting, Bolton NHS FT Non-Executive Director Sean Harriss said: 'The Trust's issues around performance and quality are moving in the right direction, but we do have some challenges.
'It is something we need to keep an eye on as a board going forward, as we get back to targets there are questions as to where quality and delivery are put under strain.
'I think a collective refection from the executive team would be useful for understanding what's happening, with triangulation between those areas.'
Chief Finance Officer Annette Walker also presented the annual accounts for 2024/25 to the Audit and Risk Committee, which showed a year-end deficit of £8.9 million before adjustments. After impairments and other technical items, the operational deficit stood at £5.9 million.
The Trust's year-end cash balance was reported at just over £10.6 million, with £16.7 million in capital expenditure.
The board was also told that the Trust is engaging collectively with other organisations in the system before seeking any additional cash support.
Annette Walker, Chief Finance Officer at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said: 'Along with other Trusts across Greater Manchester, we are currently facing financial challenges. A great deal of work needs to take place to deliver significant savings over the next twelve months and beyond, including really challenging ourselves on the choices we make and how our services operate.
'We have identified £37 million worth of cost improvement schemes, which is the amount we need to save, but know due to slippage and other pressures we are likely to experience, we need to aim to deliver even more to maintain a balanced budget.
'This will not be easy but we have structures in place to help us manage and stay on track with our financial recovery, and our priority will always be to do what's right for our patients, communities and staff.'
