Bosses at a North East NHS trust have spoken about financial challenges "like we probably haven't seen before".
The Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Trust has now published a document outlining its strategy from 2023 - where the trust's chair and chief executive jointly set out the stark state of affairs. In the document, they write: "We need to change. Over the years our health and care systems have become competitive, divided and in many ways disjointed.
"We have also seen funding levels slow and in some sectors decline. And the pandemic has opened great holes where there were gaps in care. And this has hit the most vulnerable in our communities harder, at the same time as the gap between rich and poor is growing."
