In light of the significant financial challenges that the Trust faces, we have been placed in Financial Special Measures by NHS Improvement, and will be under the special measures regime for financial performance.
Financial Special Measures were introduced by NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSI) to improve financial performance for Trust’s facing significant and unsustainable financial deficits for 2016/17 and future years. The Trust is one of a number of Trusts across England with a longstanding and significant financial challenge, and we are working jointly with our partners to address this.
We aim this year to reduce our deficit from £48m to £31.2m, and this remains our plan. This is a really challenging target, but we need to continue to work towards financial sustainability as well as improving the quality of the services we provide. At the end of Month 5, however, we had overspent against this plan and it is for this reason that we are being supported in Financial Special Measures.
We have already been working on our financial recovery plan and the support from NHS Improvement will help us to deliver this. In addition to this, we are fully engaged across the health economy with commissioners and partner organisations as part of East Sussex Better Together and the wider Sussex and East Surrey Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP). These forums will support the delivery of improved health and care based on the needs of our local population.
We are committed to improving our financial outcomes, whilst maintaining high standards of quality, and welcome the involvement of NHS Improvement to help us achieve this.