Health trust 'will break even' despite £3.5m debt (From Gazette & Herald)

Health trust 'will break even' despite £3.5m debt

THE HEALTH trust which runs Malton Hospital is nearly £3.5m in debt, it has been revealed.

However, the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Trust expects to be in a break-even situation by the end of the financial year in March, finance director Bernard Flynn told its board.

But "a substantial amount" of remedial action will be needed, including the disposal of assets to achieve it, he added.

Major points of overspending include the surgical division on drugs, consultants' contracts, difficulties in achieving planned savings in maternity, and payments for additional surgical sessions carried out to reduce waiting lists.

In addition, said Mr Flynn, there had been overspending in the accident and emergency services, power supply contracts, clinical negligence insurance, and overspending in the new medical engineering department.

Spending on medicines alone between April and December, was £307,000 greater than in the same period last year.

The trust expects to break even by getting revenue support from the Strategic Health Authority, and by combining accounting adjustments, reducing spending and maximising income, he added.

An increase in income of £1.6m is forecast, and the trust is also investigating the possibility of entering into a sale and lease back agreement on some of its equipment.

Its fortunes are likely to improve as it has now received £5.8m allocated to the trust in the national cash re-basing exercise by Whitehall.

Mr Flynn warned: "The trust must generate at least £1.6 m in income over and above contracted levels. In order to achieve this, it is important that it receives payment for all the activity it carries out this year. If patients need to be treated to achieve waiting times, the orimary care trust agreement to pay must be secured from the PCT prior to admission."

Facilities must be kept open at Scarborough General for private patients, otherwise the trust will fail to achieve its income target, he said.

Malton Hospital will be included in the new smoke-free policy which is due to come into force in March, said medical director Dr Ian Holland. As a result, smoking will not only be banned in the hospital buildings but in the grounds outside as well.

Support is to be given to staff and patients to help them kick the habit.

The trust has been given planning permission for 21 developments at its hospitals, mainly at Scarborough General, including theatre, medical school and endoscopy facilities.

Bequests left by grateful patients in their wills has enabled money to be used to buy medical equipment, patients' comforts, and other facilities. One legacy totalled £43,000, the trust heard. So far in the current financial year, £149,000 has been given in donations, with legacies amounting to £49,000.

Updated: 15:24 Wednesday, February 02, 2005