NHS overspend on county hospitals could be £19 million
NHS managers could have to dip into emergency funds to cover a spend on Northamptonshire hospital patients of almost £19 million more than expected.
Figures show A&E consultations and subsequent stays on wards, as well as unconnected follow-up appointments, have all seen thousands more cases than health bosses expected.
At NGH alone, it has resulted in £3 million worth of extra treatment being carried out in the last year than was forecast.
Moya McVicar, of the patient watchdog Northamptonshire LINk, said: “The trouble is the predictions of how many patients doctors and nurses will deal with are based on census figures that are about nine years out of date.
“If you think how much the town must have changed in that time, it’s no wonder they are getting it wrong.
“Additionally, we’ve also had no let-up in emergency cases last spring and summer and that all builds up.
“I don’t think NGH has the capacity to cope with the level of admissions it is getting and these figures seem to reflect that.”
The latest NHS Northamptonshire board papers show that in December 2011, NGH was £1.9 million over budget and Kettering General was £4.5 million over budget.
There was also £10.3 million more than expected spent on specialist care for county patients at hospitals outside of Northamptonshire, for example dealing with brain injuries following car accidents.
Some of that figure is also accounted for by patients choosing to be treated under the NHS but at private hospitals, a legal right instituted in April 2009.
An NHS Northamptonshire spokeswoman said the trust had saved money this year in other areas, such as medicines prescribing, and also had a £10m contingency fund that could be used to help balance the books.
She said the board had set out “ambitious plans” to reduce both urgent and planned care in hospitals last April, but some were delayed and others not achieved to the desired effect.
She added: “Despite efforts to reduce hospital admissions, there has been, for example, a rise in A&E activity. As we pay for acute activity on a cost per case basis, if more people need treatment than is planned for, then an overspend will occur.
“We have reviewed all our savings plans - performance managing those that need it, replacing some of those that have been delayed.”
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Comments
There are 9 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Finker
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 01:05 PMScrap pensions - more sound financial advice from the Count.
Jabberwocky
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 03:45 PMHow do you 'scrape' pensions Count? I think we should be told.
macbeth
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 12:30 PMUsual rubbish from the count. What do you do that will save the UK, make cakes?
TheCount
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 11:27 AMCut pay. Scrape pensions. Cut budgets. This Will only get worse. Time to act before we end up like Greece.
weemo
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 10:45 AMI am so glad that NGH couldnt find the £2000 needed to restore my sight last February and cancelled my appointment. It would have made this overspend spiral out of all control. I am now being referred to a hospital in East Grinstead and have no appointment date yet so I am a statistic , one patient listed for an operation in October 2009 and now in February 2012 still on the waiting list . I am told not to worry as the coalition has the best interests of the NHS in their high priority list and one day soon I will be able to see again
SteveWonder
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 10:01 AMDo we have to pay the £19 million back?
Steamdreamer
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 09:50 AMCriticism is always useful when constructive, but when - as in Mr Molehusband's case - it is based on so-called information that is just plain untrue, it does no-one a service. Mr Molehusband might like to reflect on the TRUE facts that Kettering General is due to open a new £30 million pound wing this summer, and that in the ten months to the end of January, over 92% of those attending A&E were dealt with in under 4 hours. Hardly a 'norm of 5 to 6 hours'! There is always room to do better, but Mr Molehusband's credibility would be much improved if he actually got a few things right from time to time.
Reginald Molehusband
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 08:57 AMSince when has the word "intelligence" been uttered in the same sentence as "civil service", "forecaster" or planner"? There are 6,500 homes (21,000 residents) being built at Priory Park in Corby, 9,000 in and around Burton Latimer and yet there are no plans to expand Kettering General, where 5 and 6 hour waits in A&E have become the norm. There are not enough car parking spaces, there are not enough staff there, and there are simply insufficient assets to support the burgeoning population. It doesn't matter whether it's medical facilities, schools, roads or any other infrastructure, the philiosophy in this country is build the houses first, create a shortage and then address it. Regardless of which party is in power.
lady muck
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 08:16 AMSurely it's not beyond the intelligence of forecasters to scale up predictions since it is common knowledge that the census data is outdated and the town is expanding ? And it's not 'outside of Northamptonshire'...just 'outside'. The 'of' is redundant. And Unnecessary.
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