HEALTH chiefs in Fareham and Gosport are being forced to consider service cuts after revealing they have already overspent by more than £1m, four months into the financial year.

Bosses expect the debt to reach nearly £5m by the end of the financial year next March.

Deputy chief executive Alan Pickering has confirmed that Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust (PCT) spent about 1.5 per cent more than expected between April and July.

Its budget for the year stood at nearly £185m, including ambitious planned savings of nearly £8m.

But providing everyday health services - notably payments to private providers, social services and medical staff - has seen them overspend by £1.063m.

A recovery plan has now been launched in a bid to reduce the deficit to about £2m.

Mr Pickering said: "We are heading for some major problems this year.

£We need to get our act together and take action to hold back on spending in a number of areas to make the targets.

"We will be taking some hard decisions about the way forward."

PCT chairman Lucy Docherty added: "It's a very serious financial position. It will impact upon some of the services we provide and we can't get away from that."

Options for cutbacks will be presented to the PCT's next board meeting in November.

The largest anticipated areas of overspending for the year are £922,000 more than expected on private healthcare providers, £663,000 more to GPs under a new agreement and £387,000 more than first thought for non-NHS service agreements, including community and nursing care.

The trust is currently locked in talks over the future of health services in Fareham and Gosport.

Board decisions on providing community hospitals for the two towns and retaining a

part of the Royal Hospital Haslar in Lee-on-the-Solent, threatened with closure, are just weeks away.

Independently-chaired public meetings are due to take place on Monday between 9.30am and 11.30am at Ferneham Hall in Osborn Road, Fareham and between 7pm and 9pm at Thorngate Halls in Bury Road, Gosport.

The following Monday, October 4, the venues will swap time slots.