Central control of NHS finances needs to be tighter than before during the transition to the new system, according to Sir David Nicholson.

Addressing the Local Government Association, the NHS Chief Executive argued that the “turbulence” of rapid change combined with austerity measures made temporary centralisation of funding essential.

The current financial crisis of the South London Healthcare trust showed the importance of ensuring that all hospitals meet Foundation Trust criteria, he said.

The NHS reforms imposed by New Labour in 2004 had “lost control of the money”, Nicholson claimed, and that could not be allowed to happen this time.

The two economic priorities were that every hospital should be financially sustainable and every CCG should be free of legacy debts, he said, adding: “While much of the talk is about localism, in practice I have more national control over the money in the NHS than we have ever had.”

Nicholson also said the current NHS reforms would “shift the centre of gravity” towards local government, driving the integration of health and social care – and to assist that, the NHS was “committed to transferring resources to social care”.

The NHS was currently in discussion with the LGA to agree on a strategy for effective collaboration, he revealed.

Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group has allocated more than half a million pounds to pay for risks associated with the performance and financial position of Royal Bolton Hospital.

The CCG has set aside £669,000 to cover any penalties the hospital may incur after it previously missed a number of Government performance targets.

Dr Wirin Bhatiani, CCG chair, said the group is “aware there are some performance issues” but is working with the hospital to help make improvements.

The CCG called a meeting with hospital chiefs after Monitor, the independent health watchdog, published a report criticising its management.

In the meeting, reassurances were requested by the CCG’s board that everything was being done to address performance issues. Commissioners now say they will now work alongside the Trust to ensure targets are achieved in the future.

The hospital had failed to meet the Government’s 18-week waiting time target for treatment between April 2011 and April 2013. The A&E target was also not achieved. However, the hospital says both of these targets are now being met.

“We are working alongside them every step of the way,” said Dr Bhatiani. “We are aware there are some performance issues causing concern and areas that need work, but we have seen significant improvement in the last two months in many of these areas.”

A host of community projects have taken advantage of more than £200,000 funding from NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group to improve the quality of life for carers.

A total of 23 projects have been selected for funding that meet the requirements of the Group’s aim to improve the health and wellbeing of carers in the region.

Projects include a club to improve the employability prospects for black and minority ethnic people with mental health issues, a food and thought programme and a project to improve health support for people with cerebral palsy.

Doctor Phil Jennings, Chair of Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group, said the projects were all “extremely worthy causes” and he looked forward to witnessing their development.

Voluntary and community health organisations were invited to apply for funding of up to £10,000 for projects which align with the CCG’s vision.

“I was delighted to see so many applications for funding,” said Dr Jennings. “It highlights how many voluntary and community organisations there are out there working hard to improve the lives and health of Wirral people and carers.”

A host of NHS trusts received bailouts totalling more than £1 billion in the last six years, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has shown.

The Department of Health was forced to issue four struggling foundation trusts and 17 other trusts the money between 2006 and 2012 to pay creditors and staff.

Amyas Morse, Head of the NAO, said that it was clear “parts of the service are under strain.”

Research found that South London Healthcare NHS Trust – which recently became the first to go into administration – needed a total of £356 from the DH to break even over the last six years. It is yet to pay back the money.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust also required £195 by the DH to cover its debts.

Last year, trusts needed £253m from the DH, the report found – a huge increase from the £76m requested between 2010 and 2011.

The NAO now estimates that NHS trusts and foundation trusts will need approximately £300m more in bailouts next year to cover ailing finances – despite a surplus of £2.1bn across the NHS.

Meanwhile, official figures from the Department of Health showed ten NHS hospital trust recorded deficits last year.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals was £19m in the red, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare ended with a £6m deficit, Mid Essex Hospital Services Trust ended up with £2m debts and Newham University Trust recorded losses of £200,000.

Hospital trusts in the capital struggled to control finances more than any other part of the country with the region finishing £96m in the red overall.

Sir David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive, said the “demands of an ageing population and increased costs owing to developments in drugs and advancing medical technologies present challenging financial conditions in a constrained economic environment.”

He added that “all parts of the NHS” will need to take “bold, long-term measures” to meet financial challenges.

A host of NHS trusts received bailouts totalling more than £1 billion in the last six years, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has shown.

The Department of Health was forced to issue four struggling foundation trusts and 17 other trusts the money between 2006 and 2012 to pay creditors and staff.

Amyas Morse, Head of the NAO, said that it was clear “parts of the service are under strain.”

Research found that South London Healthcare NHS Trust – which recently became the first to go into administration – needed a total of £356 from the DH to break even over the last six years. It is yet to pay back the money.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust also required £195 by the DH to cover its debts.

Last year, trusts needed £253m from the DH, the report found – a huge increase from the £76m requested between 2010 and 2011.

The NAO now estimates that NHS trusts and foundation trusts will need approximately £300m more in bailouts next year to cover ailing finances – despite a surplus of £2.1bn across the NHS.

Meanwhile, official figures from the Department of Health showed ten NHS hospital trust recorded deficits last year.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals was £19m in the red, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare ended with a £6m deficit, Mid Essex Hospital Services Trust ended up with £2m debts and Newham University Trust recorded losses of £200,000.

Hospital trusts in the capital struggled to control finances more than any other part of the country with the region finishing £96m in the red overall.

Sir David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive, said the “demands of an ageing population and increased costs owing to developments in drugs and advancing medical technologies present challenging financial conditions in a constrained economic environment.”

He added that “all parts of the NHS” will need to take “bold, long-term measures” to meet financial challenges.

Epilepsy patients in Dumfries and Galloway will benefit from a unique partnership between the Scottish NHS, pharmaceutical companies and the voluntary sector.

The cross-sector collaboration will deliver specialist nurse training for local health professionals to develop their expertise in managing epilepsy across all care environments.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway will work with charity Epilepsy Scotland and pharma companies Eisai, GSK and UCB Pharma to develop the service.

Epilepsy, which affects over 1,500 people in the region, poses challenges to both primary and secondary care: medication is often poorly tolerated and acute episodes are dangerous.

Epilepsy Scotland will provide a specialist nurse for three days a week to ‘upskill’ health professionals, while the three pharma companies will support the training with software, printing and other resources.

The partnership will run for three years and, according to Epilepsy Scotland Chief Executive Lesslie Young, will create “a legacy of epilepsy care in this area”.

It will enable the region’s NHS Board to address an identified lack of expertise, and to provide services directly that it had previously outsourced.

Young commented that the project is “an original model of cascading epilepsy expertise” that “sets a new benchmark in joint working” towards the shared goal of “better patient-centred treatment”.

“This innovative proposal allows the research-led pharmaceutical industry to work with our partners to improve the delivery of healthcare and focus on improving outcomes for patients at a time of significant financial challenge,” noted Gordon Lundie, UCB’s Government Affairs & Market Access Director.

Jeff Ace, Chief Executive of NHS Dumfries and Galloway, said the project was “a milestone collaboration”.