United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust 'to overspend by £75m'

ULHT runs Lincoln County Hospital, pictured, Boston Pilgrim and Grantham District

The trust which runs hospitals in Lincolnshire has said it could be overspent by £75m by the end of the year unless urgent action is taken.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) said its budget deficit was already £40m because of agency staff hire costs and winter pressures.

The trust was only recently taken out of special measures.

Its deputy chief executive said it needed to recruit more nurses, in order to open beds and generate more income.

Reporting a £6.3m deficit for the first month of the financial year earlier, ULHT chairman Ron Buchanan warned board members the financial credibility of the trust could be at risk if steps to reduce the deficit failed.

Deputy chief executive Kevin Turner, said "a simple extrapolation" of the figure for April would lead to the £75m deficit.

"We know where the issues are. They are all predominantly linked to the fact that we need to recruit more nurses to open more beds to treat more patients to attract more income for our services," he said.

"We know what the actions are and it's our responsibility to tackle them."

ULHT has more than 200 nursing vacancies

ULHT has more than 200 nursing vacancies and the trust board heard staffing was down to 80% in 12 areas.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans earlier to clamp down on "rip-off" agency staff, to plug gaps in the NHS.

"Our responsibility is to comply with the requirements of the Secretary of State but we'll work with our trust development authority to make sure we do it in a managed way," Mr Turner said.

"It's not just simply a case of switching off the agency staff, we need to maintain our wards safely."

ULHT, which runs Lincoln County, Grantham District and Boston Pilgrim hospitals, was taken out of special measures in March.