Barnsley finances could impact EPR

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is concerned its financial difficulties could impact on getting benefits from its Lorenzo electronic patient record system deployment.

The trust declared a serious incident on financial irregularities in March this year, after going from expecting a financial surplus to ending up with a several million pound deficit.

According to the Yorkshire Post, the trust is estimating a £7.4m deficit for the 2013-14 financial year. As a result the trust has put in place several investigations into how this happened and is under scrutiny from the foundation trust regulator Monitor.

“As a result Monitor has opened an investigation into the Trust which includes our financial performance as well as the trust performance on the A&E standard,” says the trust’s May board papers.

Barnsey is due to go live with its Lorenzo EPR from CSC in September this year, after gaining approval from the CSC LSP Programme Board in March. Under the deal between CSC and the Department of Health, the trust will get central funding for deployment and service costs.

The board papers say that the trust’s plans to deliver the full benefits of investment in technology, such as the EPR, “is an area for concern for the committee with the trust’s present financial position.”

However, a trust spokesperson told EHI that the trust is still planning to go ahead with the Lorenzo deployment this autumn.

The financial deficit is partly due to the trust failing to hit its A&E targets, failing to achieve saving targets and overspending on capital investment projects.

Frances Shattock, Regional Director for the North at Monitor, said the regulator wants to understand why the trust is facing problems with its finances and A&E targets.

"We expect the trust to take rapid action to address its problems whilst an investigation is ongoing. If necessary, we will not hesitate to take regulatory action."

Monitor will decide on what action it will take at the trust this week.