BASILDON Hospital’s finances are being investigated after its debt was predicted to more than double in a year.

Health watchdog Monitor is urgently looking into the matter after the debt estimate at the end of this financial year rocketed from £6.5million to at least £14.2million.

Hospital bosses, who flagged up the financial situation to the regulator, blame:

  • Relentless pressure on A&E
  • The national shortage of doctors, leading to huge agency staff bills
  • The costs of improvements to bring the hospital out of special measures this summer

Chief executive Clare Panniker said: “This has not come as a surprise to us. We are already well under way with the work which we believe will address our current position.

“But I want people to know we won’t be doing anything that will affect the quality of care on wards.

“I will ensure safe staffing levels on the wards – that is an absolute line in the sand.”

In the New Year, the hospital will apply for extra Government funding. Contrary to other trusts, it had used its own savings to pay for improvements needed to pull it out of special measures, whereas about £120million was provided to 14 other trusts in a similar situation.

Mrs Panniker said: “We took the view that we needed to try to resolve as many of these issues as possible by ourselves. Perhaps other trusts didn’t have that facility at that time.

“We concentrated on putting investment where we needed to be making services fit for purpose and that was the right thing to do.

I think getting involved in an argument about who is going to pay for what would have been missing the point.

“We needed to take responsibility for making improvements that we made, employing nurses and doctors, opening all the beds.”

Laura Mills, deputy regional director at Monitor, said: “Basildon has made great progress in improving its services for patients, but it appears to be struggling financially.

“We want to find out why the trust’s finances are deteriorating and ensure its leadership is taking appropriate action to address this challenge.”

Hospital bosses will submit a financial rescue plan to Monitor in January.

The trust will set out how it will bring its finances closer to predicted levels over the next three years with measures set to include posts being cut, further savings and help from other health services.

It has already launchedanumber of campaigns to reduce people visiting A&E, has worked to improve patient flow throughout the hospital and cut the number of missed appointments.