Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust still struggling on efficiency savings

In October it only achieved 89 per cent of its cost improvement plan target, and has not achieved more than 91 per cent in any month since July. Figures for earlier months are not included in its latest finance report.

The underachievement of savings is currently £261,000.

This is largely due to high bank and agency expenditure in rehabilitation services and e-rostering problems in the adults and community services division.

Of all the cash releasing efficiency savings programmes, £37,000 will be found non recurrently and £252,000 is yet to be identified which is potentially “stacking up” a problem for future years, board reports say.

However, the divisional directors currently forecasting non recurrent savings have given assurance that the savings would be delivered recurrently in 2010-11.