Independent troubleshooters have been drafted in to help solve a £13.6m deficit problem at Oxfordshire's major hospitals.

David Highton

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, including Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill and Radcliffe Infirmary, and The Horton, Banbury, overspent by an estimated £2.7m in November, adding to its September deficit of £10.9m.

But senior managers said patient care and safety were more important than balancing the books.

They are bidding for extra money from Thames Valley Health Authority, which has drafted in independent accountants to help solve the financial problems.

The sum has built up following the introduction of measures to prevent patients waiting a long time for treatment or having their operations cancelled.

The improvements have meant £13m has been spent on agency staff since April, to fill vacant posts and to allow services to stay open. In-house nurses are also costing more money because they are being paid overtime to reduce the waiting list backlog.

ORH NHS Trust chief executive David Highton said the priority was to make sure patients received proper treat- ment.

He said: "We have had to put more money into emergency pressures and some of that is unfunded but we have to improve patient care and guarantee patient safety. Making sure patients are safe is our fundamental target.

"We have had to do a lot of work at premium costs, but we're recruiting more staff and this should mean we will have less and less premium costs.

"I would lose support from clinical staff if I put costs first. They all work with us to reduce costs, but there's a line that they clearly won't cross if it jeopardises patient care.

"The analogy I use is plate-spinning. We are trying to keep all the plates spinning and that's very difficult."

In October, trust managers pledged to contain their deficit to £8m, but it has become obvious that cost-cutting measures have not had an impact on the overspend.

They have now put in a bid to Thames Valley Health Authority, which oversees the NHS in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, for an extra £10m to bring down their deficit.

TVHA has also agreed to lend them money to cover immediate costs.

ORH finance director Chris Hurst said: "Obviously, we have got to address the issue of being back in balance and the whole situation has got to take that on board.

"We're trying to improve more services, but in the short term our ability to do that at normal costs is very limited."

A TVHA spokesman said: "The position at the Oxford Radcliffe has significantly deteriorated.

"The health authority and the trust are concerned about the scale of the possible problems and have jointly begun an urgent investigation to consider the position.

"Independent accountants and advisers have now been brought in and will report back in January. The health authority, together with the NHS in Oxfordshire, will consider the position and what steps need to be taken to bring the finances back into line."