Hospital trusts need “coherent plan” from government to reduce deficits, says spending watchdog

The government must provide a clear plan for reducing the unsustainable level of deficit among NHS hospital trusts, the UK’s national spending watchdog has urged.

In a report published this week the National Audit Office (NAO) said that acute care hospital trusts in England had seen their finances worsen severely in the past 12 months and that the position was set to get even worse by the end of 2015-16.1

With demand for healthcare services continuing to rise, the NAO said that it was imperative that the Department of Health for England and its arm’s length bodies got to grips with the deficit and ensured that value for money was achieved.

The auditors highlighted that NHS trusts and foundation trusts posted a cumulative …