Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is zero-rated

Of the 46 NHS trusts in Kent, Sussex and Surrey, 31 said they had overspent by between �267,000 and �32m, with only seven reporting a budget surplus.

Seven other trusts said they had broken even while one refused to comment.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust had the largest deficit, while Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust (PCT) revealed the largest surplus.

The Brighton PCT said in the last eight months it had saved �924,000 of its budget.

Top four health trust deficits Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust - �32m Royal West Sussex NHS Trust - �14.72m Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust - �8m Swale PCT - �7.8m

Spokesman Michael Scholfield said the overall financial situation in Brighton and mid-Sussex was "pretty dire" and the surplus would be used to offset deficits elsewhere.

Other trusts which also avoided exceeding their budgets included the East Kent NHS and Social Care Partnership, East Kent Coastal Teaching PCT, Shepway PCT, Bexhill and Rother PCT, North Surrey PCT, and Hastings and St Leonards PCT.

But it was not such good news for the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which had so far overspent by �32m.

The trust - which runs hospitals in Crawley and Redhill - has a current deficit for the 2005/06 financial year of �18.3m, plus historical debt of �14m.

Before the end of the financial year in March, the trust expects to lose another �9m.

Redundancies planned

Chief executive Gary Walker said: "The trust has consistently stated that it cannot resolve the debt on its own.

"The focus of the new management team is on stabilising the trust and implementing the turnaround plan with support from the Department of Health to get finances back on track.

"That will take one to two years to complete."

Measures adopted to reduce the overspend include making around 300 non-essential jobs and vacancies redundant, reducing routine surgery and cutting the number of theatres in use.

In Kent, Swale Primary Care Trust reported the largest budget deficit - �7.8m.

But the trust insisted it had a "wide-ranging financial plan in place" to try to save money.

Thirty jobs will be made redundant and one ward at a community hospital in the area will be closed.

Four other trusts in the South East revealed they had debts of more than �7m, with another eight trusts admitting they owed more than �5m.