By 
TO reduce its £7.6million deficit, the Western Trust has said it is considering cutting costs in a number of areas, including travel expenses, overtime and training.
As of November 30, the local health authority was operating at a deficit of £7.6 million, with that financial shortfall predicted to grow to over £11 million by the end of the year.
At a meeting of the Western Trust board last week, chief executive Neil Guckian said, “In terms of finance, we continue to face a challenging financial position.
“The trust is reporting an overspend of £7.6 million against its budget and the projected deficit for the year is £11.4 million.”
He concluded, “While the deficit is much lower than it was earlier in the year and compares favourably regionally, we need to ensure our deficit is minimised.
“We are at the stage now where we do not think we can avoid a deficit, every trust in Northern Ireland is the same, but we are working our way to keeping it as low as possible.”
It was noted that this financial year the trust has spent £57 million on flexible nursing costs, including £41 million on agency staff and £13 million on nurse banks, which is a register of staff managed by the trust who are prepared to come in at short notice to cover staff sickness or to pick up extra shifts at busy times.