Bob Jewell, acting director of finance at South Tees NHS Hospitals Trust, says he is certain they will avoid having to reduce staff levels.

The trust says it set 'challenging targets' at the start of the year.

But Mr Jewell has defended the early retirement of his predecessor - halfway through the financial year.

He said: "Potentially, there will be some eyebrows raised at Steve Anderson leaving, but there's no need for concern.

'Good housekeeping'

"We set tight targets at the beginning of the year to save �6.8m, and it's proving to be a challenge for us.

"One of the indicators received shows the trust to be very efficient, which is difficult when at the same time we're trying to save millions, so it's a challenge."

Mr Jewell also made reassurances that job cuts were not being considered.

He said: "We're looking at every option. The Trust has always tried to avoid as far as is ever possible reducing staffing levels and I'm certain we'll continue to do that.

"We're looking at good housekeeping measures and making sure that we increase the efficiency of all the resources that we have available so that we can continue not to impact on the quality of healthcare."

The trust also said it has plans for a three-year package to remedy the overspend.