Some hospitals are overspending by as much as £141m a year due to NHS underfunding, staff shortages and demand for care, according to Whitehall’s spending watchdog.

Some hospitals are overspending by as much as £141m a year due to NHS underfunding, staff shortages and demand for care, according to Whitehall’s spending watchdog.

King’s College healthcare trust, which runs two hospitals in London, ended last year £141.4m in the red – the biggest deficit among England’s 232 trusts that provide services.

Ten trusts recorded a combined deficit of £758m in 2017-18, which was 69% of the £991m loss that trusts collectively posted, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.

Another London trust, Barts Health, had the second largest deficit – £108.8m – while the United Lincolnshire hospitals trust was £81.23m in the red.

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