HEALTH bosses will face more questions from councillors next week over a cash crisis involving organisations delivering care in the county.

Members of the county council scrutiny of health committee have expressed concerns for the future of front-line services because of the number of NHS and primary care trusts that have announced deficits or have said they will be facing cash problems this year.

According to a report considered by the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority in February, NHS organisations in its area were facing a projected total deficit of £47m for 2005/2006, based on the most recent projections available.

Most of the trusts serving North Yorkshire are in the area covered by the authority, which has responsibility for managing their overall performance.

The report said that under Department of Health guidelines, all NHS organisations would be required to achieve financial balance in 2006/2007 and recover any cumulative deficits from previous years.

It said ongoing assessments indicated that by the end of 2006/2007, original spending plans for the North Yorkshire health economy would need to be reduced by between £80m and £90m.