Sloppiness and waste hitting patients hard says watchdog

10.50.55am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 6th Sep 2006

Patients hit hardest by NHS debts

The NHS is slipping into increasing amounts of debt with little hope of recovery, an Audit Commission review on NHS financial management has revealed. The NHS overspent by £536 million in 2005/06 and the huge deficits will hit patients the hardest. The report concludes that unless there is a focus on efficiency and effectiveness the NHS will be unable to keep up with demand.

Stockport's Primary Care Trust is £1.5 million in the red after 3 months of the financial year, though it balanced the books last year after initially reporting a £5 million shortfall. Local MP Andrew Stunell claims that the gap then was closed at the expense of patients, and he fears there could be worse to come.

"There is hardly an NHS dentist to be found, and the waiting list for digital hearing aids is approaching two years. Now they have to tighten the belt even more."

Commenting on the watchdog's report Mr Stunell said:

"The NHS is slipping further and further into debt with patient services suffering as a result. According to the Audit Commission debts are piling up as a result of shoddy financial management and an inability to adapt to change."

"It is essential that the NHS is able to manage its finances yet government initiatives such as Payment by Results, the frequent reorganisations, and the untested Patient Choice scheme all carry financial risks that will make this task even harder.

"Senior managers are trapped between a rock and a hard place. Often they know they are being asked to do the impossible by Government ministers, but they have to pretend it is all going fine. In the end it is the patients who suffer."