THE financial position of Worcestershire’s hospitals has improved according to the county’s NHS.

Bosses at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust say the service is on course to deliver a “small surpluss” by the end of the financial year. Board members were due to be informed of the news at a meeting today.

Trust director of resources Chris Tidman said “robust measures” had reduced the rate of overspending and brought the year-to-date deficit in line with expectations at £1.9 million.

Mr Tidman also confirmed an application for a £9 million working capital loan had been submitted to the Department of Health to help address more immediate debt issues and help keep it within its prudential borrowing limit.

Further improvements need to be made to the trust’s liquidity rating - which assesses the availablility of its assetts that are held in or easily convertable to cash - as part of its hope to achieve Foundation Trust status.

Mr Tidman also addressed concerns that the joint services review (JSR) cost-cutting programme was purely financially driven.

“Like every other NHS organisation we are operating in a challenging financial environment and we must redesign services that are both financially and clinically viable,” he said.

“Clinical safety, however, will be our priority and the major driver for the JSR is the ability to sustain high quality services in the context of increasing clinical standards, such as ensuring a consultant presence seven days a week.”

The JSR has been set up to manage a funding shortfall across NHS Worcestershire of between £150 million and £200 million by 2015/16 and has threatened county hospitals - Kidderminster, Worcestershire Royal [Worcester] and Alexandra [Redditch] with downgrading.