Cambridgeshire mental health trust cuts deficit from £8.8m to £800,000 after funding boost

The interim head of an NHS mental health trust in Cambridgeshire said he is working to get the service back to a “stable financial position”.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust said in January that it was facing a £8.8million deficit, but on Wednesday last week (March 27) said this had been reduced to an £800,000 deficit.

The trust delivers mental health and social care services in the county, and is responsible for Fulbourn Hospital and the Cavell Centre in Peterborough.

The trust’s board of directors heard additional funding from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System had cut the deficit and the trust was expecting to reach a break even position.

However, a report to the meeting said were still millions of pounds in overspends in some areas, including:

- £4.3m overspend on agency staff costs;

- a £3.9m overspend on out-of-area placements; and

- a £1.9m on estates costs due to inflation and “increased minor works spend”.

Lauren Gable, the chief finance officer, said the agency staff costs and the out of area placements were ongoing challenges, but said there was a plan to address both issues.

Scott Haldane, the interim chief executive, said the trust was working on moving “back into a more resilient and stable financial position”.

He took on the interim role after former chief executive, Anna Hills, stepped down last month following the announcement of a review into all of the suicides the trust had seen since 2017.

The board heard that progress was being made with the review.

Mr Haldane said the trust had also recently been visited by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

He told the meeting that while the full results of the visit had not yet been shared, initial feedback from the CQC had been “positive”.