HEALTH services in Warrington are among the worst funded in Cheshire and Merseyside it has been revealed.

NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group has been allocated a budget of £275.1m for 2016/17, amounting to £1,239 per registered patient.

That makes it one of the lowest funded CCGs in Cheshire and Merseyside.

A spokesman for NHS Warrington CCG said: “This is determined by historic funding levels and also is linked to the new budget formula that has been introduced this year, which considers factors such as population size, health needs and other factors.

“Under the previous funding formula, the CCG received a higher level of growth to bridge the gap between existing funding and target allocation – this is what the CCG initially planned for before the new funding formula was introduced.

“The new formula resulted in a lower than expected target budget which has led to an increase in the level of financial risk in the CCG’s financial plan. – the impact of this means that we are limited in terms of how much money we have to invest in new services.”

A number of financial pressures were experienced by the CCG in the first quarter of 2016/17, with an increase in the cost of urgent and emergency care at Warrington Hospital and a 40 per cent rise in funded nursing care by the Department of Health.

Additional investment was also made in plans to allow residents to make use of multiple GP surgeries with the creation of a brand-enhanced service.

But the CCG remains upbeat about the state of Warrington’s health services.

Their spokesman added: “Both the impact of the lower than anticipated funding and the increase in charges means that the CCG has had to consider additional actions to meet the growing financial pressures.

“Although NHS Warrington CCG is not in formal turnaround it has taken the sensible decision to adopt the disciplines applied to financial recovery and is exploring all opportunities to make efficiencies.

“NHS Warrington CCG is committed to making sure that local people receive the best possible health care and regardless of financial, patient safety and quality of service will not be compromised.

“Whilst being one of the lowest funded CCGs we have made real progress in terms of improving local health care services.

“The recent NHS England Assurance assessment has rated the CCG as good – a real achievement given the challenges faced in Warrington.”