Trust working hard to get out of the red

Date published: 03/09/2007

The NHS is on track to record a surplus this year but the Pennine Acute Trust — which runs Rochdale Infirmary — is still working to pay off its £9.2 million deficit.

There are 22 NHS trusts in the red with some seeing their financial position getting worse and others slipping into debt for the first time.

Overall figures showed the NHS was forecasting a £983 million surplus at the end of the financial year compared with the £510 million surplus recorded last year.

The surplus represents 1.3 per cent of the NHS budget and ministers pledged to plough the money back into patient care.

The total gross deficit of the NHS — the total amount owed before surpluses are used to offset it — is expected to be £204 million, down from £911 million in 2006-7.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the figures will allow the Government to put money into other areas of the NHS.

He said: "We are talking about more access, more money to tackle hospital infections and measures to ensure people get the best personal care."