CASH-STRAPPED hospital bosses have run out of the cash they set aside for wage increases after staff fought and won higher salaries.

About 70 staff have won appeals against new pay deals, which were part of the biggest nationwide shake-up of NHS wages.

It means cash kept in reserve to pay them has run out and bosses will now have to find the cash elsewhere.

Most staff at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust have had their salary increased under the review of NHS salaries, called Agenda for Change.

It aims to give people doing jobs of a similar standard the same salary.

The trust is already grappling with its biggest ever savings target this year, to save £14 million, not all of which has been found.

Trust deputy chief executive Gary Graham said about 100 appeals were heard and 70 were successful. He said: "We did the Agenda for Change process and it came within budget.

"But then we knew people would appeal and we do reviews for that. What is happening now is as we go into that review process we are agreeing with a lot them and saying you should be paid more' and now that money we put aside has run out.

"That is a cost pressure to the trust. The Agenda for Change process was never budgeted enough to cover the cost."

Yet Mr Graham said: "What we haven't done is said no, that is the end, that is the budget we have got, we are not going to pay you anymore'."

The trust's finance director, Stephen Brookfield, said the Government recognised nationally that trusts should get more money for Agenda for Change and would make it available during the next financial year.

The Department of Health has previously admitted that it underestimated the cost of the scheme - which does not include doctors - by £220million.

Tim Ellis, spokesman for Unison, said: "Clearly the Government has under-estimated the cost of Agenda for Change and the trust must now bear the brunt of that. They should have funded trusts properly in the first place."

While the trust overspent by £2.7million and £4million in the last two financial years this year it has gone into the red by £273,100.

This is because it has put into place a £14million savings plan.

Jobs faced the axe if this target was not met, bosses warned at the beginning of the financial year.