Last updated 10:32, Friday, 03 October 2008

THE ORGANISATION responsible for more than £700 million of NHS spending in Cumbria claims it is on a healthy financial footing.

Measures taken by NHS Cumbria, the county’s primary care trust, have helped to turn a £36.7 million deficit in 2006/07 into a small surplus this year – two years earlier than forecast.

The trust’s financial position was highlighted at its annual meeting in Kendal.

Earlier this year NHS Cumbria was told it no longer needed government help.

Family doctors and other health professionals now control around 60 per cent of the health budget in the county.

Sue Page, chief executive of NHS Cumbria, said: “This is a remarkable performance against an extremely difficult background, especially as the financial turnaround has been achieved two years earlier than forecast.

“We have put the primary care trust and the health economy of Cumbria on a sound financial footing.

“This would not have been possible without the support of staff who have worked tirelessly through uncertain times to get us where we are today.”