NHS hospitals are facing pressure from regulators to cook their books and downplay the size of their deficits, according to a whistle blowing finance director. In anonymous evidence given to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the finance chief told MPs that he and his colleagues are concerned that national regulators are pressurising NHS providers to deceive taxpayers and government departments about their financial performance. After five years of austerity and funding cuts under the previous coalition government in conjunction with an aging population, the NHS is facing increasing financial turmoil The Independent reports: The hospital sector is expecting to breach its target of a £1.8bn controlled deficit this financial year, with the National Audit Office projecting the total could be £2.2bn. However, in their evidence to MPs, the anonymous finance director warns that the overall deficit for NHS providers in England could be as high as £2.9bn – a figure which one leading expert said would not be surprising. Five years of squeezed funding under the Coalition Government coupled with ever growing demand from an ageing population has left the NHS facing a mounting financial crisis. Although the Government has pledged to invest £3.8bn into the health [...]