Rising patient demand ‘putting foundations trusts under pressure’

Increasing patient numbers are putting NHS foundation trusts under pressure at a time when they are already struggling with limited resources.

This is according to a new study from regulatory body Monitor, which showed that NHS foundation trusts treated almost 100,000 extra emergency patients between April and June 2014, in addition to significant increases in non-emergency patients.

The activity has been accompanied by a continued need to make additional cost savings and an over-reliance on expensive agency staff. As such, the 147 trusts failed to meet a number of national waiting times targets, with the sector as a whole posting a deficit for the first time.

Dr David Bennett, chief executive at Monitor, said: "We believe trusts can make further progress by improving their planning, aggressively implementing best operational practices and working more effectively across local systems."

The British Medical Association described the findings as "extremely worrying" and called on the government to urgently provide more funding to support NHS services.