Joy as PCT reveals surplus of £4.6m

South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust reported a surplus of £4.6 million this financial year.

The trust, which provides healthcare services for 604,000 residents in the county and employs 2,000 staff, produced a turnover of £725 million.

Its net capital spend was £5.9 million from a budget of £6.6 million.

The PCT's performance for 2007/08 was revealed at its second annual general meeting in Cannock last night.

The trust only came into existence in October 2006, inheriting a potential £16 million cash black hole from its smaller predecessor. Its success in turning that around has allowed the PCT to pay its nine executive directors up to £860,000 in basic salary. They also picked up around £50,000 in other payments.

Chief executive Stuart Poyner is highest paid on a basic salary of between £130-£135,000.

Director of finance Helen Simpson, director of public health Judith Wright, locality director Geraint Griffiths and managing director of provider services Anne Heckels, all received at least £100,000.

Seven non-executive directors were paid up to £105,000 between them, while 12 members of the professional executive committee received up to £95,000 basic plus up to £175,000 in other payments. Among the trust's most significant achievements were in exceeding waiting time targets.

The trust treated 86.5 per cent of in-patients and 94 per cent of out-patients within 18 weeks of referral against the targets of 85 per cent and 90 per cent respectively.

One hundred per cent of 7,702 patients with cancer were seen within two weeks from an urgent GP referral, 99.9 per cent of 2,235 within 31 days from the decision to treat to the first definitive treatment and 96.7 per cent of 996 within 62 days from urgent referral to first definitive treatment.

The targets for the first two were 98 per cent and the third, 95 per cent. It also matched the national A&E four-hour waiting target of 98 per cent of patients.

Chairman of the PCT, Alex Fox said: "To ensure we can deliver better services for the future, achieving financial balance has been a key focus over the last 12 months .

"And the financial surplus will be required to address financial commitments anticipated in the next financial year.

"We have also made great strides for better care through practice-based commissioning (PBC), where GPs and practice staff are working to determine how to appropriately invest through PBC consortia, which are commissioning a growing range of services more closely aligned to local need."