Why financial position at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust could affect size of new hospital in Bury St Edmunds
A cash-strapped NHS trust has said it is considering downsizing plans for its new hospital as it continues to manage its financial situation.
Today the board of the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) met in Bury St Edmunds, where Dr Ewen Cameron, chief executive of the trust, said the new hospital at Hardwick Manor could be smaller than originally planned.
Dr Cameron said that when renewed plans are considered for the new hospital the capital amount it costs to build the facility, and run it effectively, need to be discussed.
He said: “We have to ask, are there things that can be done to build a smaller hospital which will still meet the needs of the population?”
Dr Cameron said there is the potential that plans for the new hospital in could be renewed, but smaller, with the trust offering more community services to meet demand.
The original plans for the Hardwick Manor site, in Bury, said it would cover up to 100,000 square metres and include a surface and multi storey car park, with all patients given their own room.
At the meeting, the board was asked about rumours the trust, which also runs Newmarket Community Hospital, plans to cut the size of its workforce by four per cent.
Dr Cameron said there were no plans to do this but admitted the trust’s financial position will have ‘some impact on the workforce’.
After the meeting, a trust spokesperson said: “As part of the process of designing any new hospital, a range of factors are considered in relation to the appropriate size, these include predictions about increased future demand and alternative services that will reduce that demand.
“This is a standard part of designing new hospitals and is being continually developed during the business case process.”
Finance
Jonathan Rowell, director of financial recovery and the trust’s acting chief finance officer stressed the challenging position the trust is in.
Mr Rowell, who is sitting on the trust’s board on a 12-month secondment from NHS England, praised the way it has ‘grasped the challenge’ it is facing with its finances, saying it was an ‘important first step’.
He reiterated the trust will be able to pay the backdated pay award to its staff in October.
This comes after the trust sought £17 million from the Government as its ‘cash position continues to deteriorate’.
Mr Rowell stressed there was a contingency plan in place for the pay award if it is not agreed by the Department of Health.
Jeremy Over, executive director of workforce and communications, said members of staff are noticing the impact of the financial situation and have been in open dialogue with his team regarding it.
A trust spokesperson said: “The trust is developing a recovery plan, which will set the pathway for the trust to get back on a sustainable financial footing.”
