NHS trust faces £2m budget debt

West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust runs Dorset County Hospital

A health trust is to cut the number of beds it provides as it struggles to recover millions of pounds of debt.

West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust is £2m overspent and is unlikely to recover any funds within its 2005/6 budget, which ends on 31 March.

The Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority, which is responsible for the budget allocations of all Dorset trusts, said it was not alarmed.

It is currently £1.6m underspent, which is forecast to rise to £5m by 31 March.

In the medium term this plan is expected to reduce bed numbers but in the current year there has been no reduction West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust

A spokeswoman for the authority said: "The information for Dorset is that all of our trusts are forecasting to break even or better at the end of the financial year.

"The only exception to this is West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust, which has declared that it is likely to be overspent by £2m.

"This isn't seen as a major problem. There is a recovery plan in place between the hospital and South West Primary Care Trust and financial support will be given to West Dorset."

A spokesperson for West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust said it plans to tackle the overspend by improving efficiency.

A trust spokesman told the BBC News website: "We have implemented a reconfiguration of bed numbers, including the creation of a short stay surgical ward.

"In the medium term this plan is expected to reduce bed numbers but in the current year there has been no reduction.

"We will continue to maintain enough beds to meet the needs of our patients and to ensure that we can deal with the level of emergency admissions as required."