Provider call for extended STF and changes in rules

01 November 2017 Seamus Ward

Login to access this content

A new report, Recovering provider deficits: has it worked and at what cost?, said the sustainability and transformation fund (STF) had become a key part of provider financing. NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson called on the government to confirm that the STF will continue to be directly allocated to providers from 2019 – currently it is confirmed for 2017/18 and 2018/19 only.Providers_ report

He acknowledged that the use of control totals and the STF had played a key role in helping the provider sector to stabilise its financial position. 

He added: ‘It means that the STF £1.8bn is now an integral part of provider funding. If the STF is taken away from trusts in 2019/20, when current commitments on the use of the fund end, the provider deficit will simply balloon again.’

The report called for a change in rules that double-penalised trusts which did not sign up to their control total or missed their targets. Trusts unable to agree to control totals at the start of the year were denied access to the STF and A&E capital funding, for example. 

It also urged a more flexible approach when providers missed their control total for reasons beyond their control – for example, following a terrorist attack.

NHS Providers also highlighted analysis by NHS Improvement – which is expected to be published early this month. It said this suggests trusts could perform 280,000 more operations in 2018/19 if theatres were used more efficiently. Early finishes accounted for the greatest loss of operating time, costing the NHS £280m last year.

Saffron Cordery, NHS Providers’ director of policy and strategy, said support to help trusts work more efficiently and reduce delays for patients was invaluable. 

‘However, it is important to remember that this is not just about scheduling,’ she continued. ‘Other factors, including staffing and the availability of beds, and wider hospital services, also make a big difference. 

‘When these are at full stretch – as is the case now – it is much harder to use theatres as efficiently as trusts would like.’