HEALTH bosses in East Lancashire are to discuss how to make £46million worth of cutbacks at a meeting tomorrow.

NHS East Lancashire has been told it must save the money in response to the economic downturn and ministers’ potential freeze on investment in the healthcare service.

It is feared the move could lead to job losses and some services being decommissioned.

The trust, which has a budget of about £600million, arranges health care and commissions services for the 382,000 people of Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale through family doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and optometrists.

It directly employs 2,800 staff including nurses, health visitors and other community service providers.

No details of exactly where the cuts will come from will be released until the meeting, but all primary care trusts have been told to deliver reductions in management costs of 30per cent over the next three years.

They have also been told to cut down on back office services, such as administration, and IT.

The Government is demanding the NHS make savings of up to £20billion a year by 2014 as part of its plans to tackle the recession.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has already been told it must save £50million through cutbacks over the next three years.

And now the primary care trust has disclosed plans to save £8.7million this financial year, followed by £14.4million in 2011/12, £10.8million in 2012/13 and £12.1miliion in 2013/14.

Chris Dixon, director of finance, information and estates for NHS East Lancashire, said: “The overall financial position gives the PCT a considerable financial challenge just to maintain the required financial balance.

“To address the scale of the financial challenge, it will be necessary to consider a vast range of cash-releasing savings and efficiency programmes, as well as service reconfigurations.

Part of this task has already commenced through the work of the PCT’s value for money steering board.”

The board is looking at decommissioning services, reviewing existing contracts and potential service redesigns.

Staff ‘bright ideas’ are also being reviewed and their practicality assessed.