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NHS trusts overspent by nearly £900m NHS trusts overspent by nearly £900m
(35 minutes later)
NHS trusts in England have racked up a deficit of nearly £900m in the first nine months of this financial year despite the extra money being ploughed into the service, the BBC understands. NHS trusts in England have racked up a deficit of nearly £900m in the first nine months of this financial year.
The sum is down from the record overspend of £2.45bn in 2015-16. It comes despite the health service being given extra money to help it get on top of its finances after the record £2.45bn overspend in 2015-16.
And regulators believe the deficit could actually be cut slightly before April to between £750m and £850m. Regulators forecast a slight improvement in the finances by April, but confirmed NHS trusts were on track to bust their £80bn budget.
But this has only been achieved because of a special one-off £1.8bn fund this year to help hospitals plug the gap. Hospital bosses blamed winter pressures for the overspend.
The figures cover hospitals, ambulances, mental health units and community services - although most of the deficit has been accrued by hospitals. They said they had had to treat more patients than budgeted for, while delays discharging patients because of a lack of community services had cost hospitals in particular.
Between them these trusts have a budget of nearly £80bn. That is about two-thirds of the health budget as spending on GPs, training, drugs and public health are accounted for separately. The figures cover ambulances, mental health units and community services as well as hospitals - although most of the deficit has been accrued by the latter.
Hospitals have blamed rising visits to A&E and problems discharging patients because of a lack of community services to care for patients. Between they account for about two-thirds of the health budget as spending on GPs, training, drugs and public health are accounted for separately.
The accounts cover 238 trusts. In total 135 were in deficit three quarters of the way through the 2016-17 financial year. NHS Improvement, which released the accounts, said it had been a "challenging winter".
January saw the worst-ever waits in A&E, while nine out of 10 hospitals have spent the winter over-crowded with unsafe numbers of patients on wards.
But the regulator predicted the deficit could by cut slightly before April to between £750m and £850m - but still above the £580m figure suggested earlier in the year.
Some 135 out of 238 trusts had racked up a deficit in the nine months between April and December.
The total deficit when taking into account surpluses was £886m. That is less than half what it was at this point last year.
But the improvement has only been achieved because of a special one-off £1.8bn fund this year to help hospitals plug the gap.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts, described the latest figures as worrying.
He said trusts were expected to operate with a "wafer-thin" margin for error.
"We shouldn't kid ourselves. The NHS's underlying financial position is not sustainable," he added.