Government must write off hospital debts

CONCERN was expressed last week about the £46 million hole in our University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) NHS trust’s budget (“Lack of confidence in the hospitals trust”, February 16). The irregularity in UHL’s financial accounting was revealed by the Leicester Mercury last June and investigations are ongoing.

Readers may have also been shocked that our hospitals are in such a deficit at all, but the Kings Fund’s research (November 2020) shows Leicester is not alone in that respect.

In 2018/19, 46 per cent of NHS and foundation trusts were in deficit, a figure that had risen from 5 per cent in 2010/11.

Every year, the trusts must make “efficiency savings” plans but their income does not keep up with increased workload and inflation. So the Green Party letter was correct to say “budgets have not reflected NHS costs”.

However, to deduce that UHL may have to cut local health services to fill the hole is a suggestion we should not even consider.

The government has shown great ability to find money to pay contracts for PPE, test and trace systems, coronavirus testing and vaccine research and manufacture.

In fact, it has found billions and so it should.

Now it must follow through and write off the hospital deficits. I am sure all Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland residents will expect their 10 MPs to keep a close eye on the local health budgets and strenuously resist any suggestion of cuts on their territory.

Jean Burbridge, Leicester