YORK'S GPs have said they have no confidence in senior NHS managers after controversial plans to avoid a multimillion pound black hole were revealed.

Doctors from about 30 surgeries in the York area agreed unanimously to make a statement of no confidence in the senior management at Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), reliable sources have told The Press.

The sources claimed that senior CCG managers were "visibly upset" to be brought into the heated meeting and to be told surgeries did not agree with the financial rescue plans submitted to NHS England to make required savings of £5.88 million.

Doctors have warned front line services could suffer as a result.

The statement came as two of York's most senior NHS officials went on a work trip to America costing an estimated £5000.

Dr Mark Hayes, chief clinical officer for Vale of York CCG, and Patrick Crowley, chief executive of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, are on a visit to Alaska and Seattle to observe models of care in the United States and attend a seminar.

Dr Hayes and Mr Crowley's trip to the US is estimated to cost a provisional £5,000, with £2,900 spent on the pair attending a seminar at the Virginia Mason Institute in Seattle.

An estimated £1000 each has been spent on flights.

York Press:

Mark Hayes, left, and Patrick Crowley

The pair are staying with health colleagues in order to save money, an NHS spokesperson said.

Speaking after the meeting of the Vale of York's Council of Representatives at Fera in Sand Hutton, one GP warned of the"inevitable collapse of services" in the York area if the budget cannot be balanced.

They said: "The senior management were visibly upset. There was a lot of silence.

"I have never known it anywhere like it is. There's a real sense of pressure and more work for less money, and real uncertainty about the future.

"If there's a deficit, services will suffer - we won't be able to do as many hip replacements or have people go for IVF because we don't have enough money. Potentially, jobs will be lost. It's possible GP surgeries will lose staff and it may become impossible for them to provide the services they were."

It is claimed doctors are unhappy with the financial rescue plan devised by the CCG, which deprives general practice of more funding "once again".

The plans have been submitted to NHS England, which requires full saving plans to be made to them.

Another GP, who asked not to be named, said doctors were tired of picking up work previously done by York Hospital for no extra money.

They said: "For every piece of work the hospital does, the hospital gets paid. It doesn't matter for GPs if patients go to see them once, or many times in the year - they only get paid once. GPs are fed up with not getting any new funding and continually doing more and more work."

The Press put the claims to Vale of York CCG which said it was aware of the matter and was seeking further clarification about the discussions had by GPs and practice managers when the CCGs senior team was excluded from the meeting.

A spokesperson for Vale of York CCG said it is at risk of being down by £5.88 million at the end of the year and not the worst case scenario of £20million as has been suggested.

However, they say they are confident of finishing the end of the year with a planned surplus of £3.9million.

Vale of York's Council of Representatives did not respond when contacted.

Sian Balsom, manager at Healthwatch York, said about the statement of no confidence: "This is worrying news for York residents but people should be reassured that services will continue and they will be consulted on any changes to them. As we know national resources are under pressure and it’s more important than ever that people are at the heart of building local services to best meet their needs."

NHS England said it will continue to oversee the Vale of York CCG until the savings are made.