Health trust finances: South East

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NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in the South East have combined debts of more than £115m, a BBC News website investigation has found.

All 46 trusts in the region - in Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex - were contacted in January and asked what their current financial status was.

The results are below, with explanations for how some trusts came to be in that position, or measures taken to tackle any problems. Minus figures show a deficit, figures without a minus sign indicate a trust which has a surplus or is breaking even.

Several trusts who revealed debts said they expected to break even by the end of the financial year in March.

SOUTH EAST HEALTH TRUST FINANCES
HEALTH TRUST	SURPLUS/ DEBT (£)	IMPACT/ EXPLANATION
Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT	0
Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust	-1,695,000
Ashford PCT	-267,000
Bexhill and Rother PCT	369,000
Brighton and Hove City PCT	924,000	Trust's surplus could be used to offset debts elsewhere in Brighton and Hove NHS
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust	-6,100,000	Banned the use of agency staff other than in exceptional circumstances
Canterbury and Coastal PCT	-1,507,000	Recruitment freeze on non-clinical vacancies which will not compromise patient care
Crawley PCT	n/a	Would not provide information
Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust	-1,800,000
Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley PCT	-2,200,000
East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT	-5,200,000	Has provided software to GPs enabling them to find cheaper drugs
East Kent Coastal Teaching PCT	544,000
East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust	-3,200,000	Reducing agency nurse costs to cut deficit without affecting patients
East Kent NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust	344,000
East Surrey PCT	0
East Sussex County Healthcare NHS Trust	-228,000	Expects to break even by end of financial year
East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust	-5,000,000	Initiatives include reducing patients' length of stay and stopping unnecessary admissions
Eastbourne Downs PCT	-900,000	Staff asked to think twice about any expenditure
Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust	n/a	Would not provide current information, but expect a £4m surplus at end of financial year
Guildford and Waverley PCT	-3,100,000	Taskforce set up to review all services
Hastings and St Leonards PCT	519,000
Horsham and Chanctonbury PCT	-1,075,000
Kent Ambulance NHS Trust	0
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust	-1,200,000	Admitting patients on the day of operations instead of the day before
Maidstone Weald PCT	-1,600,000	Assessing the number of patients who are referred to London Hospitals for specialist treatment, and reviewing how more services can be provided locally
Medway NHS Trust	-1,350,000	Aiming to run theatres, wards and outpatient clinics more effectively
Medway Teaching PCT	-2,100,000	Ensuring national targets for waiting times are met but not exceeded
Mid Sussex PCT	0	Reviewing all management vacancies
North Surrey PCT	106,000
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust	0
Royal Surrey County Hospitals NHS Trust	-4,000,000
Royal West Sussex NHS Trust	-14,726,000	Recruiting to roles which are mission critical only
Shepway PCT	179,000
South Downs Health NHS Trust	-900,000	Making strenuous efforts to avoid the use of private beds in mental health services when NHS beds are full
South West Kent PCT	-3,300,000	Investing in a range of services within the community, so patients do not have to go to hospital for some treatment
Surrey Ambulance Service NHS Trust	0
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust	-751,000
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust	-32,500,000	£18.3m is debt for 2005/2006, added to by £14.2m historical deficit. Management says trust "cannot resolve its debts on its own". Has cut about 300 jobs, reduced use of temporary staff and temporarily reduced the amount of elective surgery and theatres in use
Surrey Heath and Woking PCT	-1,137,000	Recruitment freeze expected to help trust break even by end of financial year
Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust	-397,000	When staff are off sick, shift may only be covered if it is a priority to do so
Sussex Downs and Weald PCT	-382,000
Swale PCT	-7,800,000	Closed a ward in a community hospital and made 30 redundancies
West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust	-323,000	A freeze on non-clinical vacancies - nothing that will directly affect patient care
West Sussex Health and Social Care Trust	-428,000	Expects to break even by end of financial year
Western Sussex Primary Care Trust	-5,250,000
Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust	-8,000,000	Has closed 30 beds and redesigned areas to make more day surgery possible
TOTAL	-115,431,000