Trust debt report to come out

11:36am Friday 5th September 2008

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A REPORT into how a health trust got itself into £99m of debt will be published this month.

Last year Bromley Hospitals' NHS Trust commissioned Michael Taylor, an independent investigator for the NHS and expert in financial management, to make recommendations on how the trust can improve the handling of its finances.

The report, known as the Taylor Report, was made in December last year and January this year.

It looked at whether the trust spent money wisely and in the best interests of patients.

Tory MP for Orpington John Horam says it is important people know how the trust got itself into so much debt.

He said: "It is important that the board keeps to its commitment to publish the Taylor Report because it is only right that Bromley residents should know how exactly a brand new hospital was so badly run that it ran up debts of nearly £100m and is operating at a loss of £20m a year."

Susan Sulis, from the Community Care Protection Group, which campaigns on healthcare issues in the borough, says the debt should be written off by the Government.

She said: "The Government has ultimate responsibility for the PFI contract, which is such a disadvantageous and expensive way of providing a hospital.

"If they can find billions of pounds to support Northern Rock because it was incompetent and got itself into trouble, surely they can find money to clear this debt and the trust can start again.

"They owe it to the people of Bromley, it is our NHS, we are paying for it."