Warning over Blackpool hospitals £23m deficit

Cost-cutting plans have failed to make as many savings as expected while high demand for beds during the winter has also left the trust unable to keep within its budget.

A meeting of the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust board of directors was warned health services were underfunded and "we need to keep reminding NHS England of this".

The trust is also only expecting to receive £10m of a £17.5m funding package which had been agreed with the CCGs (clinical commissioning groups).

It had been hoped to save £4m by reducing the length of time patients stayed in hospital, but demand for beds and more complex cases had meant the hospital had had to open up more space for sick people.

Some of the pressure on finances has been due to measures required by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which rated Blackpool Victoria Hospital as 'requires improvement' following an inspection last year.

This has included recruitment of nurses, many of whom have had to be appointed through agencies which costs more.

Non-executive director Michael Hearty told the meeting: "For the population's health in this part of the country, we are underfunded. We need to keep reminding NHS England of that.

"We are investing in quality and there is a price to pay for that. At some point though the most efficient trusts have the highest standards of care and quality.

"We have to demonstrate to NHS England we are being more efficient as well as improving quality."

Non-executive director Mike Beaton said: "We can't transform without having the right amount of people to do the job.

"But we need to demonstrate we can be more efficient.".

Deputy chief executive and director of finance Tim Bennett said the trust did compare well with other trusts when it came to efficiency.

He added: "All indicators suggest the best efficiency measures are around reducing length of stay.

"We have had a freeze on recruiting back office staff, but all the implications are it does have an impact on clinicians as the work falls on them."

But the meeting heard ways of making efficiencies were being explored which included harmonising systems across Lancashire and using more digital processes.