A GOVERNOR of health services in York is “worried and very concerned” about the struggle to balance its finances, he has said.

The recently formed Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group - which has been planning and buying health services in the York area since April - is facing significant overspends amounting in some cases to over £1 million at a time.

Health chiefs have now raised fears that if savings are not made it will end its first year with a deficit.

Among the overspends are a forecasted £1.27 million on prescribing and £3.2 million on York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Alan Maynard, lay chair of the Vale of York CCG, said of the budget: “It’s very clear it’s very demanding. We are going to have to watch it from week to week. I do hope we make it but I’m not sure we will.”

“The financial position is extremely tight. The risks are the hospitals will overspend, the GPs will overspend... we have to try and consume that,” he added after yesterday’s governing body meeting in York.

“Hopefully working together we can keep the budget tight. Patients have to be treated and we have to pay for them.

“I’m worried, I’m very concerned. We are going to have to try to manage it with great care. If it all ends up that we have a deficit it will be very unfortunate for the organisation. It’s in the interests of the whole community we get the balance.”

The CCG is also expected to overspend on the NHS 111 service by £401,000.

However it will underspend by on mental health services by £2.28 million, which will be used of offset other payments the meeting heard, and continuing care has underspent by £1.2 million.

The CCG - which had to rebalance its budget in July after being expected to overspend by £7 million - is now likely to make less than half its expected £10.7 million QIPP efficiency savings.

The report states that a further £1.5 in efficiency savings needs to be made, “Delivery has now slipped even further to £5.2 million, delivery of a further £1.5 million of savings by March 2014 looks challenging. Yet without delivery the CCG will fail to break even.”