Black Country health bosses seeking national funding to balance the books
Staff working in the NHS have been told the Black Country Integrated Care System (ICS) is expecting to end the current financial year with a ‘significant deficit’ and is taking urgent measures to minimise the losses.
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The Express and Star has seen an all staff e-mail saying executives running the board – which covers the health needs of 1.26 million people in the Black Country and manages the budget for the region – is seeking external support from NHS England to ‘urgently review’ the financial position and identify any missed opportunities for further efficiency and productivity.
They are also appointing a system financial improvement director to strengthen their leadership capacity and planning a digital first strategy to cut costs.
Bosses from ICS submitted a plan for £119m to cover the rest of the financial year to April 2025. which was over the deficit target set by NHS England of £90m.
The proactive support and review it is seeking from the national body will last around eight weeks but is not expected to lead to job cuts, with the emphasis on reducing the need for bank or temporary staff.
The e-mail says: “Since the pandemic, the system has seen an increase in demands across all areas as well as more people using local services from neighbouring systems. Increased staffing numbers and inflation means it is costing us more to run our services. At the same time we have a growing population who are living longer with greater need for our services.
“Our budgets face real pressure but at the same time we want to ensure we can continue to provide the very best services for our people and populations for years to come.”
It says they are looking at ways to improve and transform services including ‘maximising the opportunities that digital technology affords us.’
It then lists areas of expenditure they are looking at including recruitment and spending controls and reviewing how to get best value for money in each of its organisations.
The ICS also includes the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) and is one of six in the West Midlands. It covers health services across Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton including GP provision, dental, optometry and pharmacy.
The e-mail is signed by chief executives form across the six boards and trusts covered by the ICS and Anthony Marsh from the West Midlands Ambulance Service.
Mark Axcell, chief executive for the ICB said: “Good financial health is key for us to be able to improve the health of the people we serve for the years to come.
“The NHS in the Black Country performs well and provides high quality care, and we welcome the external support and review as an opportunity to see how we can continue to do that and find ways to be more productive and balance our books financially.”
“Whilst we already have a challenging financial recovery plan in place, we are working with system partners and the NHS to continually improve this position.”
