The Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has issued an open letter warning that its long-standing integrated adult social care partnership in Torbay and South Devon is no longer financially sustainable. Chief Executive Joe Teape said the trust faces a funding gap of between £35 million and £36 million, which is making it difficult to maintain other NHS services.
For more than 15 years the trust has delivered hospital services and adult social care together under a Section 75 agreement. The trust says rising demand and inflationary costs mean the current model cannot continue without impacting wider NHS services, and that as an NHS foundation trust it has a statutory duty to break even which it cannot meet under the existing arrangement.
The Trust Board is reviewing the Section 75 agreement with Torbay Council and will consider whether to give 12 months’ notice to hand responsibility for adult social care back to the council. A final decision is expected at a public Trust Board meeting on 5 March 2026.
If the trust decides to give notice, responsibility for adult social care would return to Torbay Council after the 12-month notice and transition period. In the meantime the trust is asking local community groups, unpaid carers and the voluntary and community sector to work together to find new ways of supporting vulnerable residents through these financial challenges.
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