NHS trust finances are at “crisis point” with the government failing to act fast enough to close a £22bn funding gap, a committee of MPs has warned.
The net deficit of trusts is on course to hit £2.3bn by the end of the financial year, following a £930m efficiency gap between April and June.
MPs on the Public Accounts Committee have warned services could be in jeopardy without “urgent action”, and criticised government efforts to tackle the issue so far.
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“Acute hospital trusts are at crisis point,” Labour chair of the committee Meg Hillier said.
“Central government has done too little to support trusts facing financial problems with the result that overall deficits are growing at a truly alarming rate.”
She added: “Without urgent action to put struggling trusts on a firmer financial footing there is further serious risk to services and the public purse.”
The report highlights the “long-term damage” to trusts’ finances caused by the government's “unrealistic” 4% efficiency targets, and describes the data used to estimate savings plans as “seriously flawed”.
It suggests efforts to curb agency staff spending have come too late, with a solution to the deeper workforce problem desperately needed.
Hillier said: “It is unacceptable for senior government officials simply to point to excessive agency costs as a source of trusts’ difficulties.
“It is the job of those officials to take action to control spending on agency staff, and to address its underlying causes.
“The use of agencies is a sticking-plaster solution to deep-rooted problems with NHS workforce planning.”
The committee demands the government makes “informed and realistic” savings targets for care providers and to report back with plans in September.