THE NHS's birthplace will be saddled with debts for a decade, it has revealed.

Trafford Healthcare, now more than £7m in the red, will have to make a surplus every year to pay it back.

Managers say it could take 10 years.

The trust has been in debt for years. It was put into financial special measures 18 months ago. Some staff are now being forced to reapply for their own jobs in the latest bid to cut costs.

But despite bringing in a string of high-powered managers to tackle the problem in January, bosses have had to take out a £3m loan to pay wages.

That is on top of historic debts of £3m and another loan for £1.7m, taken out last year.

So far, they have paid off £500,000 from the annual surplus announced at the end of March. The trust is one of a dozen forced to tackle debts and overspending as part of an NHS improvement plan.

A spokesman said: "We borrowed £3m from the Health Department in 2007/8 to be able to pay ongoing commitments. This was borrowed before we had an agreed turnaround plan for the trust's financial recovery from years of historic overspends.

"It was initially a temporary loan reviewed monthly by the Department. When our turnaround plan was agreed by the Strategic Health Authority in February, the Department was happy to convert this into a long-term loan with scheduled repayments over 10 years.

"We also have a long-term loan of £1.7m dating from March 2007. This is being repaid over three years, and to date we have repaid £500,000."

The trust has recently advertised for a £150,000-a-year chief executive. This year, as well as taking another loan, hospital mangers have shut two operating theatres and two wards.