HEALTH chiefs in Greater Manchester have built up a é40m surplus of unspent cash.
The Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has revealed that a deficit of é70m in 2002 has now been turned into the huge pot of extra money this year despite increases in the number of staff.
The figures buck the national trend for the NHS which faces being é1bn in the red, with 4,000 job cuts already announced in Staffordshire, Cornwall, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Plymouth, Peterborough and London.
Of the 27 trusts which run all types of health services across Greater Manchester only Trafford is in the red, forcing the closure of two in-patient wards at Altrincham General Hospital. But funds cannot be transferred there from other budgets.
The é40m cash pot is equal to the salaries of 1,500 extra nurses for a year and would pay 50 times over for treatment for the 125 patients in the region who could benefit from the breast cancer "wonder drug" Herceptin - a cost the trusts only agreed to meet after a public outcry.
'Unseen demands'
It is also equivalent to more than a third of the cost of the 396-bed new wing at Wythenshawe Hospital.
SHA bosses said the é40m would be rolled forward and could be used to meet "unseen demands". But opposition politicians claimed they were being unnecessarily cautious and should spend the money on improving patient care.
"Do they really need é40m?" said John Leech, Lib Dem MP for Manchester Withington.
"I think close scrutiny of the accounts would show they did not, and it could be spent on improving healthcare."
But chief executive Dr Neil Goodwin denied the SHA was hoarding and said it cost é10m a day to run health services across Greater Manchester.
Dr Goodwin said: "We are one of the best performing health care regions in terms of financial management and if you couple this with the fact that we were recognised as the most improved in last yearés star ratings, I think this is a great testament to the hard work being done by health care staff.
'Inherited'
éIn 2002, we inherited a forecast deficit of é70 million. We have turned that around so that this year we have a é40 million surplus, money that will carry over to next year to fund unforeseen demands, for example should a new cancer drug come along.
éIt has also meant that the Department of Health has had confidence in us to invest in new services, such as the Greater Manchester Surgical Centre in Trafford which is helping to cut waiting times for a range of conditions.
éOur next target is to get the waiting times down to 18 weeks from when a patient is referred to hospital by their GP to discharge after treatment.
éThis will be a challenge, but I believe the NHS in Greater Manchester is in good shape to meet it.é
Staff
The overall surplus é totted up from all health budgets in Greater Manchester, including primary care trusts, hospital trusts, Greater Manchester Ambulance Service, Manchester Mental Health Trust and the SHA é has been amassed despite staff levels in the area rising by 6,054, or 11 per cent, in four years.
The number of qualified nurses is up from 16,127 to 17,755 (10 per cent), medical and dental staff from 3,693 to 4,512 (22 per cent) and GPs from 1,428 to 1,468 (2.83 per cent).
The number of other staff é including administrators, cleaners and doctors below consultant level é is up from 30,479 to 34,046 (11.7 per cent). Managers make up less than three per cent of the NHS staff.
SHOULD SHA bosses spend the extra cash on patient care - or roll it forward to cope with 'unseen demands'? Have your say.
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What unseen demands might those be? Refurbishing the Chief Exec's office? Sending staff on outward-bound courses? Buying some modern art? NHS trusts seem to spend money on all kinds of things these days.
People 'save for a rainy day' and the Trusts should be no different. It is when you don't have something to fall back on that you get into difficulty and debt, so having a reserve is both desirable and prudent.
It is only sensible to run in this fashion and helps prevent problems down the line. Other trusts should take notice.
unforseen circumstances is a valid how else do you think the trusts pay for repairs, renovation, new equiptment and even down to the costs incurred having to pay staff who are off sick AND provide temp/agency cover too? I dont think all of it should be carried forward for the unplanned i think they should put some of it into, that old forgotten thing that carries the NHS... oh yes its staff! and no i dont mean on 'outward bound or teambuilding' courses i mean facilities for its staff to help retain its fabulous staff
Since when has ??40 million pounds equated to the salaries of 1,500 nurses? Hands up all of our wonderful nurses who on a daily basis face assault, abuse and poor management who are actually paid ??26,666.66. I know for a fact that my wife who has who is a staff nurse and in the NHS service for 20 years isn??<sup>TM</sup>t paid that.
Boasting about turning a ??70 million pound deficit into a ??40 million pound surplus is interesting but could clearly be better explained. How has the cash strapped NHS / SHA managed such a magnificent turn around? What, if any, corners have been cut to achieve this? When you take this with the claim that their target is to reduce waiting times down to 18 weeks from referral to discharge, doesn??<sup>TM</sup>t it remind you of the government reducing waiting times when you attend A&E. They stated nobody will wait more than 20 minutes to be seen which is blandly true. Walk into A&E and you see the triage nurse and then you wait four hours for treatment. So this claim could easily be viewed with a similar dose of caution.
Likewise it is easy to say ??<sup>~</sup>most improved??<sup>TM</sup> when your comparisons are performing at rock bottom. Highlighting areas where they have improved would go a long way to re establishing public confidence.
Saving ??40 million pounds for unseen demands is commendable depending on what those unseen demands may actually be.
If one was cynical, one would be thinking are any of those unseen demands to be, a new free car parking space or maybe a pay rise above and beyond what is reasonable for a hospital god (sorry doctor). Perhaps one of those unseen demands would be the appointment of a new manager paid ??60,000+ a year to tell other managers how to spend ??40 million pounds.
Or maybe, just maybe they could think about their nurses and patients and improve conditions they subject them to.
Watch out for details of where this money is spent folks, but don??<sup>TM</sup>t hold your breath.
Sickness, yes thats a thought ME. But rather than just putting some aside for sick pay maybe some of the money could be invested in protecting staff from infection passed on from patients, instead of like now when senior management, who haven't a clue what a sick person is, condem nurses who go sick after contracting something nasty of the ward or a patient.
Now that would be something instead of the pipe dream it presently is.
oh i agree dont get me wrong im not saying they should put money aside to pay sickjness im just saying that this is one of the rising factors which you cannot take into account when budgeting as it fluctuates so much the point was if they invested in their staff more it would retain them and possibly reduce sickness but im with you wholeheartedly on your comments about infections and management - funny how those two words go together really isnt it!
What an absolute disgrace! How can ??40m be regarded as good financial planning when the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) hasn't planned to make these savings? Whilst we hear of wards closing in Greater Manchester and hospital managers coming up with yet more excuses for failing to meet targets to improve the treatment received by patients, it defies belief that Chief Executive of the SHA Dr Neil Goodwin is still on the payroll - he should be sacked! We suggest he tenders his resignation now for failing to use valuable NHS resources effectively and efficiently. Visit www.wythenshawehospital.com to find out more about our campaign for better patient care.
How about spending some of this surplus cash on a MRI Scanner ? My 18 year old son who was seen by a consultant at North Manchester Hospital in February was told an appointment for an MRI scan would be necessary. After waiting 6 weeks in vain for a letter confirming the date of this scan I telephoned the MRI department at North Manchester and was told that there was only one operational scanner covering the north of Manchester i.e Middleton, Oldham, Rochadale etc, and after finding his notes I was told it would be at least 4 months before an appointment for the scanner could be considered as there were thousands waiting for a scan. Meanwhile his career in one of our armed or emergency services is on hold for the sake of a MRI scan on his knee. Why have 40 million in the bank doing nothing while this disgraceful situation worsens ? Maybe the Manchester Evening News could do a report on this disgrace ?
It is credit to clinicians and managers working in partnership across the NHS that this surplus has been achieved.
Dr Goodwin is right to say that the demands on future healthcare expenditure are unpredictable and I hope that this money is saved for unexpected future expenditure and not to prop up less efficient health economies elsewhere.
Respondents need to stop 'bashing' sections of the NHS - managers and Consultants being prime examples. Success like that which Greater Manchester has achieved has been through all staff working together for excellent cost effective patient care. It's not all perfect but given the experiences of other parts of the country, it could have been much worse. Well done NHS!
What a load of rubbish by Matt. If they spent the money now on existing problems it would prevent complications setting in, resulting in the cost of more expensive operations and procedures in the future. To make it simple for you Matt. Why let a blackhead turn into a boil and then into an abscess when you have the cash to treat the less serious condition in the bank doing nothing but helping to give the purse holders a good name for the next dubious honours list this penny pinching government publishes.
What complete rubbish Matt from Salford is talking. Significant amounts of money in the bank when the NHS is in need of extra cash is completely ridiculous. It is no credit to Dr Godwin at all, its simply a disgrace! How can you justify this amount of money in the bank when people can't even get a scan? I'm sick and tired of staff in the NHS complaining about their lot - you're not the only professionals with stressful jobs, if you can't deliver and take criticism where its due you're in the wrong profession. Has anyone looked at that Justice for Barbra website? what is wrong with the people managing our health service?! Shame on Dr Godwin and other NHS managers obsessed with saving money!
I totally agree with Matt, well done the NHS, especially when you see what is happening in other parts of the country.