AQW 14292/22-27 Written question to the Minister of Health
To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) the number of people in receipt of Direct Payments that are in debt to each of the five Health and Social Care Trusts, in each of the last ten years; and (ii) the average amount of debt in each Health and Social Care Trust, in each of the last ten years.
Asked by Kellie Armstrong MLA on 2 September 2024
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 2 September 2024
- Answer due by
- 17 September 2024
- Answered
- 16 September 202414 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Health
- Priority question
- No
Answer
The five Health and Social Care Trusts have provided the following information in response to the question above.
Trusts have advised that in the main, a Direct Payment debt will arise when an invoice is issued to recover monies owed, and as such have provided the number of invoices or debts raised in each of the financial years. This is the best estimate available for the number of patients. The average debt has been calculated based on total invoiced amounts divided by invoices raised to the nearest pound.
Direct payment debt by Trust 2014/15 to 2019/20
| 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | ||
| BHSCT | Number of invoices | 4 | 9 | 41 | 40 | 36 | 2 |
| Average Debt Value, £ | £1,482 | £1,400 | £963 | £619 | £776 | £1,653 | |
| NHSCT | Number of Debts Raised | 37 | |||||
| Average Debt Value, £ | £1,839 | ||||||
| SEHSCT | Number of invoices | ||||||
| Average Debt Value, £ | |||||||
| SHSCT | Number of Invoices | 12 | 6 | 7 | 42 | 47 | 129 |
| Average Debt Value, £ | £1,504 | £288 | £202 | £1,156 | £712 | £900 | |
| WHSCT | Number of invoices | 7 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 28 | 21 |
| Average Debt Value, £ | £481 | £836 | £450 | £681 | £1,080 | £897 |
Direct payment debt by Trust 2020/21 to 2024/25(to date)
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 to date | ||
| BHSCT | Number of invoices | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Average Debt Value, £ | £5,091 | £1,151 | £2,773 | £1,707 | £2,573 | |
| NHSCT | Number of Debts Raised | 45 | 56 | 62 | 54 | 96 |
| Average Debt Value, £ | £1,606 | £1,341 | £1,384 | £1,562 | £1,464 | |
| SEHSCT | Number of invoices | 58 | 25 | 16 | ||
| Average Debt Value, £ | £2,501 | £1,806 | £1,561 | |||
| SHSCT | Number of Invoices | 73 | 56 | 81 | 113 | 52 |
| Average Debt Value, £ | £1,353 | £694 | £1,206 | £1,065 | £1,058 | |
| WHSCT | Number of invoices | 6 | 43 | 120 | 86 | Not provided |
| Average Debt Value, £ | £405 | £1,491 | £1,820 | £1,367 |