Barts Health NHS Trust broke even in the fiscal year 2020/21, in a boost to their financial stability as a trust.
The past year represented a record spend by the Barts Trust – outlaying over £1.6bn over the course of the year, partly to cover the costs of the pandemic and a portion of that amount was reimbursed by NHS England.
Expenditure on staffing saw sharp rise, as more permanent staff were required to help bolster the ranks of the Queen Elizabeth Unit (QEU) for critically ill COVID-19 patients at the Royal London.
Barts Health also received a significant amount of investment from the Treasury – a sum of £122m was given to the trust for infrastructure development. £40m of which was spent on Covid related projects such as fitting the intesive care unit at Royal London for the QEU.
Hardev Virdee, our chief financial officer, said: “This was a tricky year for financial planning. Although all providers received a Covid top-up for the first six months of the year, it was withdrawn for the second half. At one point we forecasted a £10m deficit, but we worked closely with colleagues across northeast London to manage the pressures together and break-even at the end of the day.”
Last month LH reported that Barts Health has innovated its mechanical thrombectomy service into a 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week service. Since doing so, the trust said it has provided around-the-clock procedure support for stroke patients and supported an additional 25 patients each month.
