FINANCIAL woes in Worcestershire’s health sector have continued to deepen, with the organisation running the county’s three major hospitals now warning it could end the current financial year £57.7 million in the red.

The latest figures released by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust show it was already £23.8 million in deficit by the end of August, £7.4 million worse off than it had predicted in April.

As a result the organisation, which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital, has again revised its end-of-year forecast, warning if this downward trend continues it will be £57.7 million in deficit by the end of March 2016.

At the start of the current financial year the trust predicted it would end the year with a £31.3 million deficit, but has already been forced to revise this several times. Although the organisation vowed at the start of the year to work its way back to balanced position within three years, it has so far shown no signs of improvement.

The problem has been put down to a number of factors, not least the impact of having to pay expensive temporary staff to make up staffing numbers.

Fines imposed by other health bodies such as the county’s clinical commissioning groups for failing to meet NHS targets have also had a significant impact, totalling £2.4 million so far this year alone. The amount of ‘fit-to-go’ patients – those ready to leave hospital but unable to do due to lack of placements elsewhere – is also said to have impacted the trust’s accounts to the tune of £2.5 million since April.

The trust’s interim director of finance Colin Gentle said the high level of elective operations which it had been forced to cancel as a result of a lack of capacity had also impacted its finances as this would usually generate income from the NHS.

“These are very challenging times for the trust,” he said. “The month five financial performance is disappointing.

“Our hospitals are under pressure and growing demand is being placed on our finances in a number of areas.”

But he added the trust had revamped the way in scheduled operations and it was hoped this would mean fewer would be cancelled in the future.

Mr Gentle said the trust was also doing “everything possible” to reduce its reliance on temporary staff while maintaining patient safety.

“We will continue to work closely with commissioners to focus on freeing our hospitals’ capacity so we can deliver increased levels of planned care together with financial improvement,” he said.

The trust is putting a number of measures in place in an effort to turn its fortunes around, and is working on securing some additional income in January and March next year which would bring it back to its predicted 31.3 million deficit position.

The trust ended the 2014-15 financial year 25.9 million in the red – more than double its forecast at the start of the year of £9.8 million – and the year before that with a £14.2 million deficit.

The figures will be among a number of issues discussed at a public meeting of the trust’s board at the Alex on Wednesday, October 7. To view the papers visit worcsacute.nhs.uk.