BOSSES at the Great Western Hospital have introduced a programme of savings to combat a £18.6m deficit.

With demand for services constantly rising, the amount of money coming into the hospital is vastly outstripped by the amount leaving.

At the end of the last financial year in March, the GWH Trust had a deficit of £8.6m, despite predicting a surplus.

However, for the current year it is forecast to jump up to £18.6 million, more than double the previous figure. The trust hopes to bring the surplus down to around £14m by the end of the year, and by an extra £2m if other measures can be put in place.

Kevin McNamara, Director of Strategy at the GWH, said: “Where we used to have a winter period and then it was quieter for the rest of the year, we now see constant demand.

“Last year, our busiest day was a Sunday in June and now in a typical month we are seeing 1,000 more patients than we were four years ago. This is not about blaming patients though as there are a number of factors. People are living longer and there is a lot of growth in Swindon.”

The trust receives just 30 per cent of the money spent on each patient above a figure set in 2008, while the cost of new treatments is rising.

There is also a national shortage of nurses, meaning cover from agencies is brought in to maintain safe levels of care but these can cost between £20 and £50 an hour. More than £11 million was spent on agency staff last year.

“We believe we can get the deficit down to £14 million by the end of the year, which is still high but moving in the right direction,” said Mr McNamara.

“Quality care which is safe and sustainable remains our top priority so the impact will be far more on the non-clinical side rather than the clinical side, which I believe is right.”

The trust has banned using expensive agencies and looked overseas to the likes of Spain and Portugal for permanent staff.

There has also been a freeze on the employment of non-essential staff, predominantly working in office roles, while discretionary spending has cut dramatically. Colour printing will no longer be used to save £50,000 a year – the equivalent of two nurses.

But Mr McNamara believes in the long term the way services are provided will have to change if the GWH, and many other hospitals in a similar position are remain viable.

A five-year plan is being developed to save around £90 million.

He said: “This is an acute hospital and there are no doubt things we could stop doing which would not impact the service but only if we accept things will have to be done differently.

“It will involve greater work with other agencies to provide a more integrated health service.”

Earlier this year, the GWH was told by the health watchdog Monitor it was in breach of its licence for failing to have a stable financial recovery plan.

A spokesman for Monitor said: “We will ensure its plans are strong enough to improve its efficiency, so that it can begin to tackle the increased deficit it is now predicting.

"We will continue to scrutinise the trust’s performance as it delivers these plans, and will take further action for patients if necessary.”