Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Trust has £3m deficit

The Trust provides physical and mental health services. Its two biggest bases are at the Fulbourn Hospital in Cambridge and the Cavell Centre in Peterborough.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust has reported a £3.1m deficit.

The trust said it was due to a number of contributing factors, such as patients being sent out of the county for treatment and agency staffing costs.

The trust had planned for a much lower year to date deficit of £120,000.

Interim director of finance Derek McNally said: "We are moving into uncharted territory."

The trust provides physical and mental health services. Its two biggest bases are at the Fulbourn Hospital in Cambridge and the Cavell Centre in Peterborough.

A report prepared for the meeting of the trust's board of directors said it had overspent by £900,000 on out-of-area treatment and warned of a £900,000 "cost pressure" paying for medical agency staff.

The report also said the trust faced a having to find an extra £600,000 for the staff pay award and revealed a £600,000 overspend so far this year on estates and IT.

Stephen Legood, director of people and business development, said while the "agency staffing costs were incredibly high" it was an issue faced by NHS organisations in general.

Dr Cathy Walsh, the chief medical officer, said: "The trust was hoping to reduce its agency rate 'significantly'.

She added a "coordinated approach" from was needed from all NHS trusts to "pressure agencies to reduce what they are asking for".

The meeting heard the number of patients being treated out-of-county was being reduced and that the trust was seeking to increase its income using its buildings.

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