FRESH evidence of the cash crisis facing the NHS emerged last night in the wake of the sudden departure of its top executive.

A series of examples of cutbacks highlighted the pressure senior hospital managers were facing to make ends meet.

In Greater Manchester, hospital chiefs announced they had cancelled 24-hour care because of the cash crisis.

Trafford NHS Trust said it was closing the two in-patient wards at Altrincham General Hospital after "safety" fears because of staff shortages.

At the other end of England, it emerged that one cash-strapped health trust was preparing to cut 300 of its 5,000 staff.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, which is facing an £8.1m shortfall, blamed rising pay deals and the cost of drugs.

In London, a £1bn project to rebuild two ageing hospitals - St Bartholomew's and the Royal London - was finally given the go-ahead, but it was revealed that three floors will not be equipped in a short-term cost-saving move.

A British Medical Association spokesman said trusts across the country were being forced to make cuts to patient services in order to meet their debts.

Hospitals are treating more and more patients faster to meet Government targets - and the huge amount of extra money put into the health service has not been enough.

The NHS is expected to end this financial year deep in the red, with some estimates putting the potential deficit at £1bn. The half-year forecast was £600m and the target was £200m.

In the North-East and North Yorkshire, it is believed that no one has been made redundant so far.

Despite a recruitment freeze at South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust and the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust both are expected to finish in the red.

The South Tees trust, which runs the 1,000-bed James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, is heading for a £26m deficit by the end of the financial year.

The North Tees and Hartlepool trust, which runs district general hospitals in Stockton and Hartlepool, is predicted to finish £13.5m in the red.

In County Durham and Tees Valley, Sedgefield Primary Care Trust (PCT) is heading for a £4m overspend, while Durham and Chester-le-Street PCT is looking at a year-end deficit of £2.4m.

In North Yorkshire, the largest deficit is looming at Selby and York PCT which is predicted to be £23m in the red. The trust which runs Scarborough General Hospital, is predicted to be £6.9m overspent.

The unexpected resignation of Sir Nigel Crisp on Tuesday had provoked a flurry of questions over the future financial health of the service.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt insisted Sir Nigel was not a scapegoat for the mounting deficits, and that the budget books would be balanced by 2008. She said only "a very small minority" of hospitals and NHS bodies had serious financial problems.

But Karen Jennings, head of health at public sector union Unison, said she believed the true level of NHS debt was worse than had so far emerged.

"It is becoming clear that job cuts, cancelled operations and ward closures are creating fear and demoralisation among staff and patients," she said.