Ailing NHS finances are not sustainable, government auditors warn

Government auditors have joined the growing chorus of organisations warning of the precarious state of finances of the NHS in England ahead of the chancellor’s autumn statement this week.

In a new analysis published on Tuesday 22 November, the National Audit Office (NAO) said that the financial performance of NHS bodies worsened considerably in 2015-16 and warned that the current situation was endemic and unsustainable.1

Trusts’ deficits grew by 185% to £2.45bn (€2.9bn; $3bn), up from £859m in 2014-15, and 32 clinical commissioning groups reporting cumulative deficits in 2015-16, up from 19 in …