A
culture of fear and dysfunctional management led to a hospital trust amassing
more than £44m in debt, according to an independent report.
The
investigation by Deloitte said that staff at the Bristol NHS Trust, responsible
for Southmead and Frenchay hospitals, were too afraid of losing their jobs to
raise concerns about finances and weak management.
The
report found that returns submitted to the authority showed progress in
financial savings and productivity improvements, but the truth was ‘very
different’.
At
the end of the 2002-2003 financial year, the deficit stood at £44.3m, of which
£10m was due to overspending on nursing budgets.
Sonia
Mills, the new chief executive of the trust said: "It clearly was not an
open culture that fostered challenge."
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