THE trust which runs hospitals in Herefordshire has predicted an overspend of £31.5m during the forthcoming financial year, which it says could have an impact upon patient care.

The Wye Valley NHS Trust has admitted in its board papers that the deficit could have a potential impact upon quality and safety of patient care.

It also says the overspend could lead to a negative impact on the future sustainability of the trust, lack of investment in service development and difficulty in achieving constitutional targets.

The trust is already in special measures and has been since October 2014.

But Howard Oddy, director of finance and information at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said patient safety is the trust’s priority. He said: “It is the trust’s ongoing investment into improving patient safety and quality of care that is partly impacting on our financial deficit. However, the trust will continue to put patients first."

NHS Improvement (NHSI - previously the Trust Development Authority) offered all trusts in the country the opportunity to secure funding on the basis that they achieved a reduction in their deficit.

They offered Wye Valley trust £5m funding if they could reduce the deficit to £16m but the trust rejected the offer.

Mr Oddy said: "However, whilst the trust board gave detailed consideration to this offer from NHSI, it believes a £16m deficit for 2016/17 is undeliverable, without affecting the safety and quality of patient care.

"The trust is working hard to ensure that it is able to deliver the planned position and is in discussions with NHSI regarding its submitted deficit plans."

He said the trust is working on the development of a five year plan, as part of the One Herefordshire project, with partner organisations, which aims to deliver better health, patient care, and financial sustainability to the county built around the needs of the local population.

The trust ended 2015/16 with a deficit of £20.5m, which is not required to be ‘paid back’.

Just last Friday NHSI released figures which showed that NHS trusts in England ended the financial year £461m worse off than predicted.

Hospitals in England ran up a record deficit of £2.45bn last year – the biggest overspend in NHS history – as they struggled to cope with the increased urgent care demand on their services.