NHS hospital and ambulance trusts in England have recorded a total deficit of more than £700m for the financial year to April 2017, Sky News can reveal.

NHS sources have confirmed the deficit figure to Sky News just days after the Department of Health ruled that official accounts for 2016-17 could not be published until after the election because of their political sensitivity.

The expected deficit of £700m shows an improvement on the £2.4bn shortfall run up by trusts in 2015-16, but was achieved in part because of an emergency Government injection of an extra £1.8bn at the start of the year to ease financial pressure.

The final figure will be higher than the target deficit of £580m set at the start of the financial year, but below the worst-case forecast of almost £900m at the height of the winter crisis, which was the worst since current records began.

Voices from the heart of the NHS crisis

Trusts have been engaged in a huge programme of cost-cutting at the same time as having to deal with record numbers of attendances at A&E departments and rising pressure on the system.


:: NHS 'will be under-funded' whoever wins election

Without the emergency funding, however, the picture could have been significantly worse.

The deficit figure of at least £700m, confirmed by multiple sources, is endorsed by a survey of hospital trusts by NHS Providers, the body that represents hospital, ambulance and mental health trusts.

It estimates that the final figure will fall between £700m and £750m, and praised trusts for reducing their deficits by 70% year-on-year.

Theresa May defends party's NHS funding

The survey found that more than £700m has been cut from the bill for temporary and agency staff alone, a priority as NHS England seeks to save £22bn over five years.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, told Sky News that trusts deserve praise for delivering savings in a hugely challenging environment, and called on politicians to deliver on campaign pledges of more funding after the election.

"We think that at the end of the year NHS Trusts will have delivered a deficit of between £700m-£750m," he said.

"If you compare that to last year's £2.45bn that's a very significant reduction, and that is due to a lot of good work at individual trust level, including taking out almost £750m in agency costs.

Corbyn: Tory cuts exposed NHS to cyberattack

"The NHS frontline has delivered, we have done our bit. What we hope that those standing for election will recognise is that we cannot carry on in the longest and deepest squeeze in NHS history, and we hope that after the election it will be matched by more funding for the NHS."

Opposition parties said Government should shoulder the blame for the continuing financial challenges in the NHS.

Jonathan Ashworth, shadow health spokesman, said: "It is astonishing that it has taken a leak to Sky News for this information to become public ahead of the election.

"The truth is that the Government have tried to cover up the true picture of the NHS and now we see why: seven years of underfunding have left hospital finances on the brink."

Hacker tells Sky how he cracked NHS systems

A Conservative spokesman said: "Backed by our record investment, the NHS deficit is down by around 70%, which is a tribute to the hard work of staff.

"But the way to continue investing in our NHS is to ensure we get the right Brexit deal, which only Theresa May can secure - because a strong NHS needs a strong economy. Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street, enacting his nonsensical economic polices, would put all that at risk."

Norman Lamb, former health minister and Lib Dem health spokesperson, said: "They've pumped in something around £1.8 billion this year into hospital trusts to try to improve their financial position, so basically this looks like a continuation of the dire financial position we saw last year and, bluntly, it's not sustainable."

The Department of Health and NHS Improvement declined to comment, citing purdah restrictions.