Financial situation deteriorating at Sussex Community NHS Trust

The finance report said: “This loss has turned our year-to-date position into a deficit of £68,000, which represents a worsening financial position for the fourth consecutive month.”

To the end of January the trust was reporting a deficit against plan of £622,000 which is a deterioration of £223,000 since December.

“This is the seventh consecutive month where the position against plan has deteriorated,” the report said. However it added: “We are forecasting a return to surplus for the final two months of this financial year.”

It said the trust needed to achieve cost reductions of £1.184m – an increase of £112,000 since December – to achieve its planned year-end surplus of £665,000.

The report said: “The trust has identified and is delivering financial recovery plans totalling £501,000 and is managing the risk of unidentified FRPs totalling £683,000. The trust has mitigation plans in place to overcome this risk.

“These recovery plans will address any shortfalls in the £3.043m cost reduction target and the reduced establishment management risk of £0.339m.”