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26
Mar
Harrogate hospital trust to record £22 million deficit
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is set to record a £22.6 million overspend.
Hospital officials have planned for a £20.8 million target by the end of the 2025/26 financial year.
However, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, told a board meeting yesterday (March 25) that the trust was £1.8 million away from its target going into April.
It comes as Mr Coulter previously claimed the organisation was “under-resourced for the work that we do”.
In his latest board report, he said the trust faced a “significant cash risk” due to delayed payments to suppliers — some of which have waited on average 60 days for payment, as opposed to the usual 30-day target.
Mr Coulter said:
Cash is a function of the financial challenges that we have. It’s really important that we get an agreement with the integrated care board about how we manage next year to support that cash requirement.
We are living from hand to mouth sometimes.
Mr Coulter told a board meeting today that the route to financial stability rested on its contract agreement with Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board for the next financial year.
Trust officials met with the ICB last week, where the hospital’s financial position was discussed.
Mr Coulter added:
The route to financial balance and sustainability lies in the agreement of a contract with Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board for 2026/27 that reflects the demands of the services we are providing.
By necessity this will take more than one year given the financial position of the system as a whole, and there are ongoing discussions that the board is very aware of.
Mr Coulter has previously warned that Harrogate District Hospital's financial deficit was affecting its position in the new NHS league table.
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