Higher staff costs likely to tip many NHS trusts into red

The NHS’s auditors have raised fresh concerns about the financial sustainability and resilience of many trusts. The Audit Commission, which monitors public spending in England, said that 19 of a total of 101 non-foundation trusts were referred to the health secretary for failing to meet their statutory duty to break even in 2013-14 (box). This compared with only six trusts in 2012-13.1

It said that auditors were reporting concerns about the “financial resilience” of a third of NHS trusts overall, up from a quarter in 2012-13. Marcine Waterman, the commission’s controller of audit, said, “This level of reporting is worrying and reflects the increasing risks to the financial sustainability of individual NHS trusts, as they continue to face sizeable financial pressures due to a rising demand for services …