NHS hospitals set to make overall loss for first time since 2006

NHS hospitals are set to make a loss of nearly £250m (€300m; $410m) by the end of this financial year, and experts have warned that budgets are coming under greater strain.

David Flory, chief executive of the NHS Trust Development Authority, has warned in papers to its board that the deficits were “very worrying” and posed a “very significant risk to the sustainability of the sector.”

In all, 26 NHS trusts of the 102 that do not have foundation status are forecast to be in the red at the end of March, posting a combined deficit of £457m. Some 76 trusts are expecting to at least break even, and …