SIR – There are a number of points in your article ‘Health bosses in battle to plug £2m black hole’ (Worcester News, June 29) relating to our financial position that I wish to clarify.

Firstly, the £1.9 million deficit needs to be seen in the context of our financial plan for the year.

Two months in to the financial year we expected to have a deficit of £1.6 million in line with our financial plan.

This means our position is only £0.3 million off plan and as such is manageable when seen in the context of a £330 million turnover.

Our income and expenditure vary at different times over the year and the planned £1.6 million deficit reflects that we have a number of savings schemes that will begin to reduce our costs over the coming months bringing our position back into balance.

As discussed at the board meeting we have already tightened controls on expenditure.

In addition, the trust has a number of productivity improvement schemes which will shortly begin to deliver quality improvements and savings.

We expect to see the benefit of these coming through in July and are forecasting to hit our planned financial position by the end of the year.

The off-plan performance to date is in part due to the higher levels of emergency activity than expected and we are working with commissioners to manage this. The trust is applying to the Department of Health for a £21 million working capital loan.

The delay in progressing this is due to a change to Department of Health deadlines.

The department will now not make a decision on the loan until September.

Furthermore, the delay has not contributed to the reported financial position.

The purpose of the loan is to improve the trust’s cash position enabling us to pay our creditors in a more timely fashion.

In the meantime, the trust has sufficient cash to ensure that we are able to continue to pay our suppliers.

In your article you wrote that the potential closure of one of our A&E departments is due to the need to claw back cash. This is not the case.

The trust is reviewing a number of clinical models around how healthcare should be provided across the county in future.

This review is looking at the clinical viability of running two A&E departments in the county and the current models shared with the public are based on clinical sustainability, which will inform any final option developed.

HARRY TURNER
Chairman of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust