Health chiefs will be told that the trust responsible for hospitals in South Cumbria is still facing an £11.5m deficit, despite efforts to break even in the current financial year.
The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Barrow’s Furness General Hospital, Westmorland General in Kendal and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary said a loss of £3.5m had been predicted but a paper to the trust board by Dee Houghton, its interim chief operating officer, warns the position has worsened by over £1m in a month.
Its board meets on Wednesday.
The hospital trust has set out plans to save money.
Details released on December 29 warned: “If we do nothing different, we won’t have the financial resources to see out the rest of this financial year, and are at risk of not having the required money in the bank by January 2026 to pay the things we need to.”
The trust said ‘incredibly difficult’ decisions include:
- Closing a 24-bed rehabilitation ward at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary which will save £443,000 this year and requires approval from NHS England.
- Closing 18 beds across three wards at Furness General Hospital and four overnight beds which the trust said were rarely used. The changes would save £325,000.
- Increasing to 73 the number of so-called ‘virtual beds’ where patients are cared for at home using remote monitoring technology.
In addition changes to the rates of pay paid to bank staff have taken effect.
The trust added that no services were being removed or reduced and no staff would be losing their jobs.
Staff are being asked for their views at the moment. The trust says phased closure of beds will begin from January 21.
The trust said that referral times would remain the same with 68% of patients receiving treatment within 18 weeks.
“I understand that we are in a difficult time and that our financial challenge is having an impact – which is in turn taking its toll on morale across the trust,” Scott McLean, interim chief executive, writes in a paper to board members.
“We are doing all we can to improve the position and alleviate the pressure and I know that teams across the trust are working really hard to deliver change.”
Mr McLean added: “Like other NHS providers in Lancashire and South Cumbria, we are facing a significant financial challenge.
“If we do nothing different, we won’t have the financial resources to see out the rest of this financial year, and are at risk of not having the required money in the bank by January 2026 to pay the things we need to.
“That is leading to some very serious decisions around things like what beds we can provide, what amount of elective activity we do, and what we can and can’t pay for.
“No services will be removed or changed, and no colleagues will lose their jobs because of the changes we plan. These plans have been developed by clinical and operational experts and will be closely monitored to keep patients safe.”
“We will keep working with partners to deliver care in the right setting and make the best use of resources. These decisions are difficult, but they are necessary to protect the long-term sustainability of services for our communities.”
The decision to make a permanent change to level 3 critical care services at Furness General Hospital will be raised at the board meeting, to be held on Wednesday.
175 people took part in public engagement events organised by the Lancashire and Cumbria Integrated Care Board and supported by the trust.
The feedback from the sessions have been incorporated into a report which will form the basis of a formal case for change document to be submitted to NHS England.
NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB said it was continuing to develop a Case for Change for critical care services at Furness General Hospital and obtain approval from the ICB’s newly-appointed chief executive and board.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Team led by Baroness Amos is now scheduled to visit the trust’s maternity services on January 27 and January 28.
The trust is one of 14 hospital trusts to be looked at as part of an independent, national investigation into maternity and neonatal services.
