By August, NHS North East London (NEL) was supposed to have saved a combined total of £125m but had only managed to deliver £103.6m in cuts – leaving a shortfall of £22m, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

The NHS body overseeing healthcare in north-east London is still behind on cuts it needs to make.

NHS North East London (NEL) says it is on track to balance its budget, which will require saving £367million by the financial year’s end.

The integrated care board (ICB) will need to save a total of £37.8m, while healthcare providers across eight boroughs face a combined target of £329.9m.

By August, NEL was supposed to have saved a combined total of £125m.

However, it had only managed to deliver £103.6m in cuts – leaving a shortfall of £22m.

NEL oversees the finances of the area’s five NHS trusts. They cover Barking and Dagenham, City of London, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

Based on August’s figures, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust (BHRUT) are projecting they will fall short by £23.3m. Homerton will fail by £300,000, a report published last week shows.

Trusts are required to break even by the year’s end and produce cost improvement plans showing their intended methods.

They cannot be declared bankrupt in the way a private company could, but failing trusts will be put under heavy scrutiny and may see their spending heavily curtailed. This can lead to job cuts, or a potential merger with another NHS trust.

Due to the financial position, NEL has been asked by the chief body NHS England to outline a financial recovery plan (FRP).

The FRP remains under review, it says, though the projected year-end deficit of £54.8m is almost £5m shy of the actual deficit, currently pinned at £59.5m.

Further updates on the FRP are being made, the NHS says.

This is, however, an improved position from May’s figures.

Healthcare providers were falling behind on mandated cuts by around £32.3m, and were a combined total of £80m in the red.

In a report published in the summer, the NHS said NEL was facing an “extremely challenging time”.

An official wrote: “The ICB will need to look very different by early 2026 – and this will go substantially beyond just a reduction in size.

“It is a very difficult period for our staff, and many will be deeply worried about what it means for them personally.

“When we have more clarity about the future and have worked through the changes in more detail, we will be clearer about the impact on local people.”

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