Watchdog in appeal to Prime Minister over budget deficit
A HEALTH watchdog has made a direct appeal to the Prime Minister over a multi-million-pound budget deficit facing NHS services in North Yorkshire.
The county’s Scrutiny of Health Committee has written to Theresa May and Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, over the state of health service finances.
Four clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) that serve most of North Yorkshire’s population were £46m in deficit at the end of 2017-18.
And the expected deficit for the current financial year is at least £31m, the committee said.
The appeal from North Yorkshire councillors follows an earlier letter to Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in January this year.
Coun Jim Clark, who chairs the scrutiny committee, said: “We are so concerned that we have taken the unusual decision to write directly to the Prime Minister.
“We want to be assured that any additional funding for health services is subject to robust audit to help ensure that it is used effectively and efficiently and not just to provide a temporary stopgap for local deficits.”
The letter said the committee welcomed an announcement by the Prime Minister of a long-term funding plan for the NHS.
But it said: “You will be aware that there is a history of NHS commissioners in North Yorkshire being in deficit that goes back many years.
“Unless robust financial controls are put in place by NHS England, the additional money that is being allocated will not be used effectively and efficiently and taxpayers will not get value for money.
“The committee requests that you instruct NHS England to ensure that proper controls are put in place before additional money is granted and that robust audit procedures are developed.”
The scrutiny committee said it agreed to write to “the very top of Government” after the CCG deficit was discussed at its last meeting.
In January members of the committee said they raised the impact of staff shortages on health and social care services with Jeremy Hunt.
Their letter to Theresa May, dated July 2, said: “We have yet to receive a reply and so felt that we had no alternative but to write to you directly.”