£3.4 billion of debt to be wiped from Midlands NHS trusts
Nearly £3.5 billion of debt is to be wiped from NHS trusts in the Midlands to help hospitals fight coronavirus.
The major financial boost is among emergency measures by the Government to try to help the country cope with the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.
In what ministers have labelled a "financial reset", £3.4bn of debt at 23 NHS trusts across the Midlands will be written off. It forms part of a £13.4bn national write-off.
They include Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Walsall Manor Hospital, which will have a whopping £130m of debt wiped.
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs Stafford's County Hospital and the Royal Stoke, will see £196m of debt disappear.
Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust will no longer have to pay back £82.5m.
More Covid-19 coverage:
Announcing the measures, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the measures would "wipe the slate clean" for trusts.
"As we tackle this crisis, nobody in our health service should be distracted by their hospital’s past finances," he said.
“Today I’m pleased to confirm the value of this package for the Midlands. This £3.4 billion debt write-off will wipe the slate clean and allow NHS hospitals to plan for the future and invest in vital services.”
NHS chief executive, Sir Simon Stevens, said: “We've advocated for and support this pragmatic move which will put NHS hospitals, mental health and community services in a stronger position - not just to respond to the immediate challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic, but also in the years ahead to deliver widespread improvements set out in our NHS Long-Term Plan."
The mountain of debt being written off is a combination of interim revenue debt, which includes working capital loans, and interim capital debt.
Other trusts to benefit include mental health organisations the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which will see £40m of debt wiped, and the Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which will have £700,000 written off.
