SWANSEA Bay University Health Board is to get help from finance experts as it grapples with a large underlying deficit.
Board members were told at a meeting that the Welsh Government has confirmed that external support would be made available.
The organisation, which runs hospitals and other health services in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, is proposing to make £55.4 million of savings this financial year. Even if it achieves this, it would still end 2025-26 an estimated £58.7 million in the red.
The external experts will help with financial governance, understanding the deficit and what’s causing it – such as increased emergency care and workforce costs – and delivering a clear financial plan.
Health board chairwoman Jan Williams told colleagues at the meeting: “For Welsh Government purposes, what we are saying is that £55.4 million is as much as a stretch as this organisation can cope with for 2025-26.” This was particularly the case, she said, given savings it had made in 2024-25.
The health board has identified £16.9 million of savings for 2025-26, plus a further savings “pipeline” of £22.6 million. This pipeline, according to a finance report, could include reductions in overtime and agency staff costs and a look at excess hospital beds. That would still leave a lot to do to reach the £55.4 million target.
The special meeting was convened in response to Welsh Government concerns about the health board’s 2025-26 financial plan which set out the £58.7 million deficit forecast.
The health board itself had been unable to approve the plan but submitted it to Welsh Government officials for consideration. In response NHS Wales chief executive Judith Paget returned it, saying she acknowledged the challenging position but was “particularly concerned about the rate and scale of deterioration” in the health board’s finances over the last year.
She urged work to “de-risk” the financial position and identify what would need to be done to meet a Welsh Government deficit “control target” of £17.1 million. Health board chairwoman Ms Williams said it would take three years to reach the £17.1 million target.
The meeting heard that the health board has taken on more more than 2,000 full time-equivalent staff over the past five years, partly in response to the Covid pandemic. Its annual budget, according to the health board’s website, is around £1.4 billion and it has more than 14,000 employees.
A redesign of the workforce would be looked at, board members were told, along with the current operating model.
Independent board member Anne-Louise Ferguson said it was important that the work of staff to implement the ongoing programme of savings was acknowledged.
“With the concerns we are hearing, I don’t want people to be disheartened and think it’s not working, because that will not help us deliver the services,” she said.
The health board will support the speeding up of savings identified thus far, look at further options, and set out its updated position to the Welsh Government.
