Debt write off ‘costs NHS 1,600 nurses’

The amount of debt NHS bosses were forced to write off last year would have paid for 1,600 nurses.

Shocking figures show the amount of cash owed to the NHS, which will never be recouped, is soaring by millions every year.

A Sunday Post investigation has revealed the NHS wrote off £143 million over the last five years, the equivalent cost of employing 281 experienced consultants for half a decade.

In 2007/8 bosses gave up on £27.5 million but by last year it had soared to £33.6 million. And the true figure will be significantly higher as it doesn’t include 145 Foundation Trusts.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “That the debts NHS has written off owed to them has increased by 22% over the past five years is shocking.

“We hear stories from patients who have experienced cases of poor care, sometimes as a result of a shortage of nurses, every day.

“Wasting money on bad debts is not an option for the NHS, and if it is to continue to fulfil its purpose of providing high quality health and social care to its patients, then it must adopt a more rigorous approach to keeping its financial affairs in a watertight condition.”

Last month the Government announced foreign health tourists were costing the NHS an estimated £2 billion a year.

It unveiled plans to charge foreigners a £200 NHS surcharge which would affect migrants and foreign students staying for more than six months.

But critics warned the plan would backfire and cause a surge of health tourism, with foreigners pouring into hospitals to take advantage of treatment for just £200.

Robert Oxley of the TaxPayers’ Alliance claimed the figures were further evidence health tourism needs to be clamped down upon, while NHS bosses must get a grip on their finances.

He said: “It is utterly appalling that the NHS is writing off huge debts, worse still that the problem is only getting worse.

“These debts have to be paid for from other parts of the health budget, meaning that less money is available for front-line care and bigger tax bills for already struggling families.

“Things like health tourism will contribute to this sum. It’s vital health chiefs are clear about why this problem is getting worse and what they are doing to tackle it.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “The NHS only writes off debt when there is no realistic prospect of recovery.

“Some levels of debt are inevitable in an organisation as large as the Health Service. However, levels are low and account for less than 0.1% of the total health budget.”