NHS Cloze test
NHS deficit last year twice as high as expected, say sources Likely overspend will bolster calls for 1 __ to increase funding for health service 2 __ in England ended last year with twice 3 __ big a deficit as expected, according 4 __ sources, in another illustration of the 5 __ fragile finances. NHS Improvement (NHSI), the health 6 __ financial regulator, will reveal the overspend 7 __ it releases full details on Thursday 8 _ how the NHS performed in 2017-18. Sources close to the publication of the annual health check confirmed NHS trusts ended 2017-18 “about £1bn” 9 __ the red. The likely overspend, double the £496m expected, will 10 __ claims that the government is underfunding the NHS, given the sharp increase in the number of people needing care. It would show the health service has been unable to regain the spending discipline the Treasury demanded after years of steadily worsening 11 __ . But critics will blame the deficit on the...