OREANDA-NEWS. June 24, 2015. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has agreed steps to improve its financial position in order to put services for patients on a sustainable basis.

Following a Monitor investigation, the mental health trust, which provides a wide range of health and social care services will now:

  • develop an ambitious and realistic financial recovery plan; and
  • track the effectiveness of its financial management activity.

Monitor opened an investigation in November 2014 following a deterioration in the trust’s financial performance.

This found that the trust had breached its licence to provide health care services on a sustainable basis by predicting a £9.4m deficit for 2015/16, and by not having an adequate recovery plan.

Norfolk and Suffolk has been subject to enforcement action by Monitor since February 2015, including being placed in special measures to improve the quality of its patient services.

The regulator is helping the trust to fix these problems by appointing an Improvement Director at the trust and partnering it with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Laura Mills, Deputy Regional Director at Monitor, said:

“We are pleased Norfolk and Suffolk has recognised that it must balance improving the quality of its patients’ services with having a good control of its finances.

“These steps, if done effectively, should enable the trust to balance its books and ensure patients are able to receive quality services for the future.”

The regulator will closely scrutinise the trust’s progress in making these steps.