PROBLEMS surround the treatment of more than 250 Worcestershire patients as the county's healthcare Trusts consider how to fund their operations.

South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust is expected to meet the £600,000 cost for the treatment of an additional 78 orthopaedic in-patients and 174 day case patients - but it has not yet agreed to provide this funding.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has written to the PCT saying it will be unable to meet its orthopaedic targets by the end of October if the funding is not made available.

It is also not yet known where the patients will be treated. At the moment, it seems most likely the in-patients will be treated in the private sector.

"We've not agreed we will pick this up," said finance director David Moon at the PCT board meeting.

"These patients must be treated. All organisations need to work out how best to fund it."

The Trust has refused to commit itself to funding the treatment because it has forecast a deficit of more than £2.75m for the financial year.

The main reason for the forecast is the higher cost of prescriptions, up by 12 to 16 per cent this year compared to a normal increase of around eight per cent.

"This is above what we expected," said Mr Moon.

"The National Service Framework has recommended certain types of treatment for certain conditions, and GPs are prescribing more.

"However, there will be huge improvements and huge increases in levels of prescription."

"It's important we don't underestimate this difficulty," said South Worcestershire PCT chairman Michael Ridley.

"Every effort is being made to reduce this £2.75m deficit. We're pulling out all the stops."