Health services in Croydon will be left £18m under-funded next year, despite a £26m funding increase from the Government.

NHS England plans to give Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) £467m funding for core services in 2016-17, almost six per cent more than in 2015-16.

The funding is two per cent higher than the London average but is still not enough to mitigate the 3.71 per cent shortfall in funding, on top of the CCG's current £11.9m deficit.

LAST YEAR: Why do Croydon health services have a £25m shortfall?

It is not the first year the service has dealt with a shortfall in Government funding, in 2015/16 its funding was £25m short, compared to a £40m shortfall in 2014-15 and £46m in 2013-14.

Charlie Ladyman, chief executive of Healthwatch Croydon, said: “There seems to be quite a gap between what NHS England is offering and the amount that Croydon CCG says it needs.

“It is clear the CCG will need to take a careful and strategic look at how it commissions each service rather than rolling over contracts to current providers.

“At the same time, it needs to ensure it places patient benefit at the centre of its decision-making, as much as budget savings.

“We are concerned that this shortfall will ultimately impact patient’s accessibility and experience of health services.”

Tony Brzezicki, GP Chair of Croydon CCG, said the service will work to attract additional funding in the future to address its funding shortfall.

He added: “Whilst this is welcome news, it is important to note that this funding will have constraints that are outlined in national guidance.

“We are already aware that the funds will need to be deployed to match increases to the national prices we pay for treatments, to invest in mental health services, to fund existing commitments in primary care IT and to managing Croydon’s existing £11.9m deficit position.”

A spokeswoman from NHS England said: “NHS England's established policy is that where funding is within +/-5 per cent of a CCG's target, it is considered reasonable to conclude that an area is appropriately funded to meet the health needs of the population.

“Croydon CCG will receive £25.8m cash growth in funding in 2016/17, an increase of 5.86% compared to the average growth for London of 3.60%. The CCG will also receive above average London CCG increases for the next four years.

“A CCG’s target funding is based on the weighted capitation formula recommended by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.

“The formula takes account of the size of the population for each CCG adjusted for the differential need for health services due to age, gender, health inequalities and the unavoidable higher costs of delivering health care in different areas of the country, particularly London.”