HEALTH bosses have given cautious approval to a raft of spending cuts set to come into effect in Oxfordshire next year.

Members of the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group Board joined an extraordinary meeting today looking at ways to address a £17m funding black hole.

Last month the board put an immediate moratorium on any uncommitted spend. 

Earlier this year the CCG increased its surplus target with NHS England from 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent, a value of £4m. 

It than had to spend an unexpected extra £8m on a contract with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and is facing the prospect of spending an extra £5m on nursing care due to an increase in weekly rates.

To plug the gap board members agreed yesterday to save £12m by using contingency and transformation reserves, as well as money meant for winter peaks in demand.

Up to £9.7m more could now be saved by effective funding cuts to a mixture of areas including continuing healthcare (CHC) schemes, child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), a community pharmacy rebate and end-of-life care services in the county. Each will be reviewed over the coming weeks.

Chief executive David Smith said: "We need to take action because, whether we like them or not, the NHS runs under a very strict set of business rules.

"A lot of this is uncomfortable stuff but our job is to deliver the best care we can within the resources we have got."