Cash crisis at Bolton hospital

Finance chiefs at the hospital have been told they must make £7 million worth of savings over the next financial year.

The hospital is currently facing a deficit of £3 million. And, despite more funding being made available for the next financial year, finance bosses say it is not enough and savings of £7 million will have to made from April this year to April 2006.

It is not yet known if services will have to be cut.

Hospital bosses are currently in talks with the Bolton Primary Care Trust in a bid to get more funding. The PCT controls the health finances in Bolton and has a budget of £324,649 million for 2005/6. The hospital will receive around £135 million of that figure.

Finance Director Colin Dunn said: "It is clear that cost pressures exceed the increased money we will be getting next year. We face a very challenging year and that challenge will be sizeable to achieve cost reductions.

"The key thing is how we are going to sensitively tackle the sort of gap we have. We have already issued guidelines to managers to look at plans to deliver savings for next year.

"We need to be looking at other Trusts and comparing what they are doing. We would also welcome staff suggestions into how we can save money."

Chief Executive David Fillingham said: "We do recognise there is going to be significant investment in NHS funding next year but for the next three or four years our ambition is to get ahead of the money coming in.

"We would love to offer new drugs and treatments, reduce waiting times and reward staff for the good work they do in the future.

"We are dealing with historic problems but next year is when we need to put it right.

"It will entail difficult choices and decisions but this is work in progress."

Bolton South-east MP Brian Iddon said the news was "disappointing" but that he would be meeting with hospital bosses soon to discuss the situation.