Hospital trust faces investigation over multi-million pound deficit

The deficit for the financial year 2014/15 compares with a surplus of £558,000 in the previous 12 months, and the Daily Echo has learned from a source that this year's figure may exceed £12 million in the red.

Health watchdog Monitor has requested further information from the foundation trust on "multiple breaches of accident and emergency and cancer waiting time targets" and a "deterioration" in its finances, and may launch a full investigation if the answers it receives are unsatisfactory.

This year's financial figures are expected to be available within a few weeks.

A spokesman for Monitor said: "A letter has gone to every foundation trust with things to consider to cut some costs.

"The whole system is under financial pressure at the moment.

"Nothing specific has been suggested in this case yet as we are not at the investigation stage."

She said the regulator has not recommended cutting any services, and would provide "informal" advice to the trust on cutting its deficit if needed.

Foundation trusts across England and Wales recorded a total deficit of £350 million in 2014/15, and the figures for this financial year are expected to be even worse.

Monitor has stated that trusts spent £1.8bn on contract and agency staff last year, more than double the amount they had planned, and has recommended that they fill only essential staff vacancies.

The Royal Bournemouth Hospital was one of the first trusts to be investigated, in December 2013, under the new Care Quality Commission inspection regime in the wake of the Mid-Staffordshire scandal.

The commission report found the hospital to be "dangerous and inadequate", stating: "We found the trust overall was not ensuring effective leadership and governance across the hospital."

It is believed that around six of the hospital's senior or middle managers were made redundant as a result.

However, one year later inspectors noted significant improvements and rated the hospital as 'low risk'.