BASILDON Hospital has been criticised by regulators after being hit by a staggering £23.5million black hole in its finances.

The hospital trust recorded the massive deficit in 2014/15, promptingareview by accountants Grant Thornton.

A report has now revealed “significant shortcomings” in the way the hospital’s finances are administered.

Bosses are now considering how to tackle the deficit, including tighter control on spending in some departments.

A hospital spokesman said the financial troubles were partly due to matters outside the its control, such as increased pressure for treatment and operations and reliance on expensive agency staff.

He added: “Our focus over the past two years has been on improving the quality of care we deliver to our patients – safety has been our absolute priority.

“Our success in this area has seen us move out of special measures to being rated good by the Care Quality Commission in less than a year.

“We have demonstrated an ability to make real improvements in the quality of care we deliver and now need to translate that ability into better managing the resources we have available.”

The review was ordered by regulator Monitor after an investigation into the state of hospital finances.

Hospital bosses have received a draft copy of the report and expect to receiveafull version in time for a board meeting in July.

The draft report has noted “significant shortcomings in financial governance that require a structured, disciplined and determined response”.

The Basildon Hospital spokesman added: “We welcome the report from Grant Thornton.

“Throughout the year we were in regular contact with our regulator Monitor about the increasing pressure on our finances.

“The year 2014/15 was incredibly challenging – more than threequarters of hospital trusts like ours ended the year in deficit.”

An improvement plan will include tighter controls on spending within individual departments and working closely with partners across the health sector.

Monitor was called in by hospital bosses in December as budget forecasts showed the trust’s deficit was likely to be far in excess of previous estimates.

In March, the hospital received a Government bail-out to help cover its running costs. The independent review was a condition of the money being provided.