A crackdown on overtime and more spending checks are being planned to tackle multi-million pound losses at Colchester’s hospitals.

The Colchester Hospital University NHS Trust, which has budgeted for a £15.9million deficit this year, lost £2million in August alone.

During the month, the trust was forced to pay out £289,000 in fines for missing performance targets.

Interim finance director Andy Morris, who joined the trust this month, said: “I asked myself why we are in the pickle we are in and what we can do about it.

“We are incurring fines for non-compliance of targets, which is like nothing else I have seen before.”

From April to August, the trust was fined £1.46million, 62 per cent more than was set aside in its budget to pay penalties.

At a trust board meeting yesterday, Mr Morris announced plans to introduce greater checks on spending by executives.

He said: "There may be some resentment that we are taking away people’s authority to spend money, and yes in a way we are, but it must not impact on the care we give to patients."

Full story in Monday's Daily Gazette