NHS trusts in Portsmouth and Hampshire get £140m debt written off

Health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed trusts across England will have £13.4bn debts erased.

In Hampshire, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust has jettisoned £5m debt, Solent NHS Trust running mental health and community services has lost £9.109m.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Queen Alexandra Hospital, had the fifth biggest debt in the south east removed - £125.165m. Most of the figure is revenue debt – debt from running costs in previous years with £2.8m capital debt, from specific projects.

This does not relate to its £1.7bn private finance initiative bill covering the 2009 expansion of the hospital. As reported, the PFI bill was £1bn but increased by £700m.

Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt said: ‘This is good news and I am sure will help give our trust the further it needs flex in these strained times.’

Andrew Strevens, deputy chief executive and chief financial officer at Solent NHS Trust, said the April announcement was ‘gratefully received’.

He added: ‘During these challenging times our absolute priority must be to safeguard our patients and staff from the risks of the Covid-19 virus, while also maintaining our essential services – we are proud of the way our teams are doing just that, and continuing to provide compassionate care in difficult circumstances.

‘In time, this announcement will enable us to build upon our capital infrastructure investment, such as buildings and IT equipment, ensuring we have a care environment to meet the needs of our communities in the future.’

Mr Hancock said the move would aid health bosses in their response to coronavirus. The Health Service Journal reported the plans to eliminate most of the debt from 2014-15 onwards had been in the pipeline for around 20 months.

The debt was originally a series of repayable emergency loans but is now classed as government investment so does not need to be repaid. It is called public dividend capital by the Department of Health and Social Care.

A Southern Health spokesman said it was ‘welcome news’ tackling the ‘significant’ problem of debt across the health service.

He said: ‘These are hugely challenging times and as we continue to fight the threat of Covid-19 our priority remains our patients and staff. We are immensely proud of how our staff and services have adapted to the unique challenges currently presented to them and their ability to continue providing quality, patient-focused care in difficult circumstances.

‘This announcement will enable us to continue improving services whilst working towards our goal of making them financially sustainable, without the added pressure of debt repayment.’

The News approached PHT for comment.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will have £8m written off, and Southampton was not on the list.