More than £3bn looks set to be raided from already squeezed NHS investment funds by 2020, to prop up the Department of Health’s day to day revenue budgets, according to figures seen by HSJ.
A presentation slide used by national NHS leaders says another £1bn will be transferred from capital budgets in 2017-18, on top of £1.2bn already confirmed for 2016-17.
Raids on capital funding have affected the maintenance backlog at hospital facilities
Further raids of £500m and £250m will be made in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively, the slide suggests.
The DH has been heavily criticised for repeatedly using capital funds to balance growing revenue deficits in the NHS trust sector in recent years, and the planned transfers would mean capital funds being raided for six years in a row.
The figures were revealed in a slide used by the Healthcare Financial Management Association at its annual conference. HSJ understands it had previously been used by national officials.
Full story in The HSJ 16 December 2016