THE organisation running community hospitals and mental health services in Worcestershire ended the 2014-2015 financial year £2.8 million in the black.

Figures have been revealed showing Worcestershire Heath and Care NHS Trust achieved its target of ending the past fiscal year with a £2.5 million surplus, along with an extra £300,000.

Member of the trust’s board Steven Peak called it “a remarkable set of figures”.

“It’s worth noticing given the stresses and strains on the health economy just what a fantastic outcome we’ve had,” he said.

Director of finance Robert Mackie paid tribute to the trust’s financial team for the result.

“The challenge remains for the coming year but we start with a strong base,” he said.

Unfortunately this performance has not been matched elsewhere in the county’s health economy. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust ended the previous financial year with a £25.9 million deficit, far above its prediction at the start of the year of £9.8 million, and has forecast it will be 31.1 million in the red by this time next year.

The deficit has been put down to a number of factors including the high cost of hiring expensive temporary staff to help deal with the unexpected levels of demand and the lack of beds in the community hospitals or social care placements making it difficult to discharge patients from hospital.