THE NHS is facing its 'most critical challenge' with doctors, nurses and GPs in short supply, according to the chairman of Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group.

The comments from Dr Wirin Bhatiani were made during the health authority's annual general meeting on Wednesday.

As well as dealing with an ageing population and increased demand, Dr Bhatiani said resources were scarce in Bolton and across the country.

He said: "People ask whether we have enough resources and the answer is simply no we do not.

"The NHS does not have the resources that it needs to keep up with the demand that we are facing.

"The NHS is facing its most critical challenge at the moment. There is a lot of talk about money for the NHS but the workforce is becoming a real live issue now.

"There are not enough nurses in the NHS, there are not enough doctors in the NHS.

"We hear about the impact on A&E and part of the reason why it is under stress is because there are not enough doctors and nurses available to deliver the services.

"It is the same in GP practices. There are struggling to recruit GPs and struggling to recruit nurses and receptionists.

"We have got a real problem on our hands and we are working to find solutions."

"Patients have had really good experiences of available practices, some may have stressed about not getting appointments.

"There are calls to have GP surgeries open seven days a week but the issue is that because demand is going up, we can not keep up."

During the AGM held at The Bridge Centre, the CCG gave updates on what it had achieved over the past year and the challenges it faces in the future.

The group managed to meet its target, set by the Government, of saving £7.7million in 2016/17.

This was claimed to have been made through cutting out waste, including prescriptions, where the authority saved about £3.3million, which is £1.4million more than its target.

There were also 2,500 fewer attendances at Royal Bolton Hospital A&E in 2016/17 than there were the year before.

It also heralded the Bolton Care Record, a digital care record that aims to make access to records more accessible.

Board members admitted that several national NHS targets that were not met.

These included the four-hour waiting target for 95% of people in A&E and the ambulance response times for the most serious 999 calls.