KPMG examined the income the foundation trusts had received from the private patient care division
Accountancy Age, 24 Jul 2008
KPMG has revealed that foundation trusts could have earned an estimated £70m more in private patient funds than their accounts show.
The discovery was made when union Unison challenged the regulators Monitor on the size of the income cap foundations can earn from private clients, the Health Service Journal reported.
Unison head of health Karen Jennings said they had feared this outcome.
'This is at least as bad as we feared. Foundations can do this because they have been given the scope to by Monitor,' said Jennings.
Monitor commissioned KPMG to look into the income the trusts had received from the private patient care division.
KPMG found that £70m could be viewed as private income under the widest possible definition. If the trusts had reported all income from private clients, 24 of the 40 foundation trusts could have breached their cap.
The Big Four firm concluded that the widest definition could consist of services to private patients including catering, and money recouped from private insurers for road accident victims.
Further reading:
The race to become the biggest firm on the planet...
Comments
Have your say on this article