Health bosses who have brought in radical cost-cutting measures are battling to save even more cash to balance their books.

NHS Bury has already identified where it can make £12.5m of ‘one off’ savings this year.

But it needs to find another £8.8m savings in its bid to claw back a total debt of £37.3m for this year.

The target figure is over 12 per cent of its annual £300m budget.

A board meeting today will consider ways to make the extra savings. The trust refused to say which measures will be under
discussion.

A spokesman said: “Approximately £12.5m of one-off measures have already been identified and we are confident of identifying further one-off means to bridge the remainder of the in-year gap.”

The trust needs to make £21.3m in one-off savings this year, while another £16m must be saved every year.

Secondary care, which covers treatment in hospitals, ambulances, and children’s and mental health trusts, is the most costly area – generating a debt of £10.3m so far this year.

In September NHS Bury drew up a series of measures, including cuts to routine operations, to stop its £16m annual overspend.

Under the new rules IVF is restricted to women above a certain age or in exceptional circumstances.

Patients must also meet strict criteria before they qualify for common procedures like hip and knee replacements.

Bury was one of four health trusts in Greater Manchester put into financial special measures this summer after being judged ‘high risk’.

The other three trusts were Tameside, Manchester and Stockport.

In May the M.E.N. revealed how health bosses were ordered by the government to slash £950m from their spending plans for the NHS over the next four years – which is five per cent of their annual budget of around £4.5bn.

Tweet