Shropshire Star

Shropshire hospitals set to be £12 million in red despite cash aid

Shropshire's two main hospitals have been given nearly £750,000 to help with rising accident and emergency cases, but still face  being more than £12 million in the red by April.

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The situation at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital has been revealed ahead of a trust board meeting tomorrow.

Papers show the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which oversees the two hospitals, is forecast to be £12.2 million overspent by the end of the financial year, £4 million above target.

The £736,000 has come from Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group, which is responsible for buying health services. But this has only improved the position by about £200,000.

Much of it has been swallowed up by a request from the Care Quality Commission to increase nursing levels within the critical care service following a recent inspection.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust had planned to be overspent by nearly £4.9 million at the end of October to meet its original target, agreed with Government, of an £8.2 million end-of-year deficit.

But the figures reveal it was already £8.59 million in the red at the end of October.

Unprecedented demand on A&E units with more than 300 people a day attending the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal is being blamed.

The board papers revealed the pay bill for October at the two hospitals was £18.2 million with an overspend of £1.3 million in nursing because of agency staff costs.

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