Government makes up hospital bailout policies “on the hoof,” say MPs

The government is not sufficiently prepared to deal with any NHS trust in England that is facing serious financial problems such as bankruptcy and is making up rules and processes “on the hoof,” MPs have said.

MPs on the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee have published a highly critical report on the financial sustainability of the NHS, which they say is more precarious than would at first appear.1

The report says that the public will have confidence in NHS services only if assurances are given of a viable financial future for healthcare providers. Such assurances, however, were missing, the committee said, because critical details were not yet known of how the new system for the NHS introduced by the government would work so that services remained available to patients …