NHS trust for West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds will not receive funding for the Department of Health and Social Care

The NHS trust which runs West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds said it could be £18.6m in deficit by the end of March if it does not receive more financial support.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has told the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) it will not be awarding it any further revenue.

WSFT board papers, discussed today, said this was because the trust’s financial recovery plan did not show its new forecast deficit and it wasn’t on track with its workforce plan.

NHS workforce plans ensure trusts have the right number of staff, with the correct skills, delivering services that provide the best possible patient care - within an affordable budget.

Previously WSFT, which also runs Newmarket Community Hospital, asked for £17m of revenue support for quarter three, to-date it has only received £2.1m of this request.

The trust, which has a predicted yearly overspend of £28.5m, is continuing to slow recruitment and reduce the use of agency and bank staff, as it works to get back on a sustainable financial footing.

A WSFT spokesman said should it continue to not receive revenue from the DHSC there are numerous actions the trust can take to guarantee staff are paid, and ‘redundancy is an absolute last resort at all times’.

The trust is in continued discussions with NHS England, nationally and regionally, to ensure it is given financial support in the coming months.

Once its financial recovery plan is formally approved it will be able to apply for additional deficit support to help further with financial requirements.

The WSFT spokesman said the trust is continuing to work through details of the plan which is due to be submitted to the ICB for formal approval early next year.

In papers, published ahead of its board meeting today, WSFT said: “Continuing to receive revenue support through 2024/25 is critical for the trust’s working capital and our ability to pay critical suppliers on time.”

It said it has developed a cash oversight group to help manage and forecast its cash position, this will start to meet in the coming weeks.

Dr Ewen Cameron, chief executive of WSFT, said: “To improve our financial position, we have taken rapid, focused and sometimes difficult actions.

“This has required the hard work and contribution of our colleagues across the trust, and I thank them for this.

“We are now starting to see positive signs of savings through our cost improvement programme and additional measures to reduce our spend.

“Returning to financial sustainability is hard but necessary, and we continue taking considerable steps because we must live within our means.”

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