Health board in financial 'danger'

More cuts to health services in Powys could be on the horizon as the board look to deal with a financial crisis which could see it go bust without further Welsh Government support.

At a board meeting on Wednesday, November 27 members were told that after seven months of the 2024/2025 financial year PTHB is £3.794 million adrift of where it should be.

Director of finance Pete Hopgood told board members that if this trend continued PTHB would post a deficit budget of £29.5 million at the end of March.

This would be £6.5 million over the deficit budget of £23 million that PTHB had set for the year.

A further headache for PTHB is that it has not received help from the Welsh Government to deal with a £3.5 million increase in costs from NHS providers in England due to pay awards.

This means that the deficit budget could rise to £33million.

The report added that delays in discharges from community and district general hospitals due to capacity and performance challenges in adult social care services on both sides of the border had cost PTHB £11.3 million so far this year.

Mr Hopgood said: “The summary of that is that we need to take further urgent mitigating action to allow us to hit our target deficit, which is above the £9 million savings already included in our plan.”

He added that a request would be submitted to the Welsh Government for “strategic cash.”

This would allow PTHB to be meet its obligations to suppliers and staff.

Board member Rhobert Lewis said: “The delays in discharge is an enormous sum and is devastating to our bottom line.

“We’re desperate to see some change in that next year.”

Board member Simon Wright said: “Is Powys being treated fairly in the onward allocation of any increased funding announced in Westminster.

“It does seem that we have an incredibly challenging position being made worse by choices being made in Welsh Government.”

Mr Hopgood could not answer whether it was “fair or not” and explained that the Welsh Government are currently working on their budget for the next year.

PTHB chief executive Hayley Thomas believed that the Welsh Government were expected to put their budget before the Senedd in the second week of December.

Ms Thomas said: “At that point we’ll be able to understand the approach that’s been taken to any allocation for the NHS.”

She added that the Welsh Government’s “expectation” is that the board is able to “take the necessary action” to deliver the £23 million deficit budget.

PTHB chairman Carl Cooper said: “We have an in-committee (confidential) meeting later today for further discussion of these matters.

“We are having an in-committee meeting because of the sensitive and commercial nature of those discussions.”

Dr Cooper added that the details would be made public in future reports to the board or “sooner” if more immediate action is needed.

The board unanimously “noted the increased risk” in achieving the £23 million deficit budget and that further “in year mitigations” will be needed to achieve it.

They also supported the application for “strategic cash.”