Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has £15.3 million deficit just five months into financial year

An email to staff disclosed that the trust is facing significant financial challenges this year – and that NHS England has “made it clear” it will not be getting any more funding.

And it warns that if action isn’t taken now, it could face action by regulators that could mean even ordering stationary would require “a long, drawn-out approval process”.

The trust, which was formed in April 2020, during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, runs both Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital.

In the message, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive David Carter and director of finance Matt Gibbons write: "We need to reduce our level of spend urgently. Our whole philosophy as an organisation is to devolve decision making wherever we can to our clinical teams but if we do not address this issue now, our ability to make our own financial decisions will be compromised.

"This could mean that our regulators will send in external mechanisms to support the trust and we potentially could be excluded from the national bidding process for discretionary capital funding. This is the type of funding we have successfully been awarded in the past to redevelop our sites.”

It warns: "Under these external mechanisms every single piece of spend would be scrutinised. For example, simply ordering a piece of stationary will require a long, drawn-out approval process.

"We urgently need to avoid this as we believe that giving our teams the ability to make decisions about how resources are used is a key element of our financial sustainability in the long-term and believe strongly that, with some changes to our current working, we can address the issues we face without the need for external support.

"While these challenges are real, I want to assure you that they also bring opportunity – an opportunity for us to come together and build a stronger, more efficient Foundation Trust for both our staff and our patients.

"To help deliver significant change across the organisation we have set up an internal financial turnaround team, a multi-disciplinary group made up of colleagues from across the organisation.

"The role of this team is to look at things with different eyes, suggest possible solutions to problems and talk to teams about what works well, what doesn't and what could be improved.

"We are all in this together. Our collective actions can make a profound difference. Each department, each individual, plays a crucial role in helping us improve our financial position, ensuring that we continue to provide the highest level of care.

"This is not just about cutting costs; it's about working smarter, reducing waste, and finding new ways to be efficient without compromising the care we deliver.

"With your support, we are confident that we can turn this around and emerge stronger than ever before."

In its annual report and accounts for the period April 2023 to March 2024 the trust said one of its corporate objectives was "to operate productively and cost-effectively so that we achieve our financial plans."

The report also acknowledged "The trust has a challenging financial agenda and this objective includes budget reviews, CDEL limits, oversight of the redevelopment costs and ongoing financial position."

When approached for comment on the internal email, Mr Gibbons said: "In common with most other NHS organisations, we are facing some significant financial challenges this year.

“Our approach to addressing these challenges is to empower our staff to improve processes, reduce inefficiencies and suggest ways we can work more effectively as an organisation to improve the care we provide to our patients.

“To help deliver significant change, we have set up an internal financial turnaround team - a multi-disciplinary group made up of clinical and non-clinical colleagues from across our organisation.

“They will look at things with different eyes and work with our staff to come up with new ways of working smarter, reducing waste and finding new ways to be efficient, without compromising the care we provide to our patients."