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Richard Murray, Director of Policy for The King’s Fund, said: ‘It is alarming that NHS providers now forecast a £931 million deficit for this financial year, a deterioration of more than £300 million in three months. This reflects the dramatic decline in the finances of a number of individual trusts, and raises serious questions about how reasonable the financial targets were in the first place.

‘While NHS Improvement is right to point to increases in demand for services as the reason for the financial difficulties, these are not pressures that have sprung up in the past few months and they show no sign of abating. Although the Treasury has provided more money to the Department of Health and Social Care, these pressures raise the risk the Department will breach its own budget.

‘This underlines yet again that after the biggest funding squeeze in NHS history, the service does not have enough money or staff to do everything being asked of it.’

Report:  Quarterly performance of the NHS provider sector: quarter 3 2017/18

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The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.