A HEALTH boss has warned that the NHS in Morecambe Bay is under such severe financial pressure that cuts to patient services cannot be ruled out, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate.

The health service could be battling against a £ 10 million annual deficit between what it needs to spend and the cash funding available, plus a one-off bill of £8 million, largely made up of repayments on past loans.

The chief executive of Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust, David Jordison, said he hoped the NHS would write-off the £8 million debt but this could not be guaranteed.

Without such help he warned that the PCT would be forced to take action.

"I can't see us achieving that saving without affecting some of our services in the PCT," he said.

But he added it was too early to predict where any cuts could be made: "It will take time.

We will get most of the savings out of non-clinical areas if we can but we have yet to debate the other options.

" Clearly we try to protect frontline services and essential services but I suspect there are other clinical services that have to be looked at because we have reduced everything we can from management.

Some patients in some areas may find a reduced service."

The financial problems have already led to cutbacks in speech therapy services in the Lancaster area.

The PCT provides community health services including speech therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, mental health services, community nursing services, and sexual health services, and also commissions or buys hospital and community health services.

Last week, at the end of the financial year, the PCT was £4 million in deficit, while Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs hospitals in Kendal, Barrow, and Lancaster, was predicting an approximate £1.6 million shortfall.

Money was found from elsewhere in the NHS to ensure both trusts could balance their books, but that cash may have to be repaid.

The total £5.6 million debt is part of the £8 million bill.

In addition, both trusts face a £10 million annual recurring gap between what they need to spend on health care in the Bay, and the cash allocated.

Health chiefs hope to solve this problem by using efficiency savings and other measures over the next few years, and are meanwhile seeking cash help from the new Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority to tide them over.

The chief executive of the hospitals trust, Ian Cumming, said he was not considering cuts to services, and was confident the organisation could meet the financial challenges.