FIVE years ago this week, the NHS was facing an unprecedented financial meltdown in England and had no convincing plan to close a £22bn "black hole" in its accounts by 2020-21, according to a damning report by MPs at the time. The Northern Echo’s report on the NHS financial collapse In a grim appraisal of the financial health of the NHS, the influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said at the time that a significant number of acute hospital trusts are in "serious and persistent financial distress". There was a "spiralling" trend of increased deficits; the current payment system was "not fit for purpose"; hospitals are at the mercy of agencies which charge 'rip-off' fees to supply doctors and nurses.