Harrogate District Hospital has placed restrictions on staff spending as it looks to tackle a financial deficit.

The Stray Ferret understands that the trust which runs the hospital reported a deficit of £6.4 million in January.

According to board papers last month, the organisation's overspend is being driven by agency staff costs and ongoing industrial action such as junior doctor strikes.

As a result, officials at the hospital have put a six-week restriction on all discretionary spending, which is described as non-essential expenditure.

This includes a wide range of items ranging from office equipment and consultants to staff training.

In an interview with the Stray Ferret, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the move was “the right thing to do” to reduce its deficit.

He added that the restriction was a pause rather than a long-term cancellation on discretionary spending.

Mr Coulter said:

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The trust has spent £6.2 million on agency staff since April 2023. Latest figures show it spent £503,106 on agency recruitment in December alone.

Meanwhile, Mr Coulter said the trust had paid £3 million in staffing costs for strike action alone over the last 12 months.

The move comes as the trust was criticised last year after it spent £1.2 million on hiring management consultants to develop a “culture of continuous improvement”. 

Unite the Union described the decision as “not a good use of taxpayers’ money”.

However, the trust said the move would help its employees share their knowledge with each other and come up with ways to improve the way the trust delivers its services.