£3m debts crisis at hospital

And the hospital's Director of Finance, Beverly Peacock, fears the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust could be declared financially insolvent if current spending levels continue to rise.

Board members from the Trust met last night to thrash out an action plan to stop it being declared a "Failing Trust".

Only a handful of hospitals in the UK have ever lost financial control and have been forced to bring in teams from the government.

News of the problems in Bolton were revealed on the day Britain's record on health spending was exposed after a review of 30 developed countries highlighted the fact that only Mexico, Turkey, Korea, Ireland and Luxembourg is devoting less to the care of its people.

The NHS has been dubbed "Third World" with a shockingly low provision of hospital beds while the UK suffers higher death rates from heart disease and cancer.

Experts from the think-tank which produced the report, the Office for Health Economics, has warned that the NHS growth would have to double if Tony Blair is to keep his pledge of catching up to the EU average.

The Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust finance director, Mrs Peacock, predicts an overspend of up to £3 million -- blaming the reasons for it on emergency admission pressures, other acute bed problems and staff shortages.

The pressures have also led to an 84 per cent increase in patients waiting over four hours for beds on trolleys in the hospital's accident and emergency department.

In a no-holds-barred report to Trust members, Mrs Peacock, who took over as head of finance in May juggling a £110 million budget, said: "The Trust is in deep financial crisis.

"At this year's rate of expenditure the Trust is projecting a potential end of year deficit of £2 million. At the June levels, this would increase to £3 million deficit.

"The Trust would therefore fail its statutory financial duties and be financially insolvent."

However, Mrs Peacock told board members that new figures for July were expected to be much lower but admitted a "pattern" in the trend.

Chief Executive of the Trust Mr John Brunt said: "We have to think radically and quickly about what we can do. We cannot go on with the levels of staffing.

"This is very, very bad and we have got to take urgent action. We have to do everything we can to provide clinically safe services. The Trust is under considerable financial strain.

" Yet, I am convinced that colleagues and directorates will do all that they can to walk the fine line to improve the financial position without putting patient care at risk. It is already at risk which is very sad."

Beverley Andrew, Director of Operations revealed how an increase in emergency admissions meant a large increase in the number of patients waiting on trolleys in the accident and emergency department.

Mrs Andrew said: "Patients waiting on trolleys is an unacceptable situation for them and for staff working in those areas."

In the past month, the hospital has overspent by £356,000 mainly on pay packets to extra nurses brought into to deal with high patient demands.

The finance director said that concentrating on trying to reduce the pressures has led to the Trust "relaxing its financial responsibilities."

Mrs Peacock added: "This may result in Bolton Hospitals being defined as a "Failing Trust".

Bosses are now calling on the Wigan and Bolton Health Authority and Bolton Council to "discuss the very real financial position now facing the trust and the associated impact on the whole health economy."

In a worst case scenario, the action plan will include a vacancy freeze, no further developments on services and no more unfunded staff.

There will also be a halt on any new capital expenditure.

This could have a big knock-on effect on patient waiting lists with the hospital already facing a major beds shortage.

Mr Brunt called for the hospital to buy more beds in private nursing homes to free up the beds needed for acute care.

Chairman Peter Liptrott said that the situation is "not something that could be solved overnight."

Mr Liptrott said: "We have two issues here. One of finance and the other is that we have no beds. They go hand in hand and both have got to be resolved.

"When you see people lying on trolleys in corridors, it is not something staff or any of us like to see."

Mr Liptrott promised that quality of care would not be compromised by the Trust to solve their financial problems.

Mrs Peacock added that "intense pressure" on staff had caused a knock-on effect on pay budgets.

But she said that she was "confident" that the hospital will get further contributions from other organisations in the coming months.