FINANCES may prevent some recommendations in a highly critical report on a Lancaster hospital from being implemented.

A report into Ridge Lea hospital says that patients and staff are being left 'at risk' while the building itself is unfit for its purpose.

Published this week, the report criticises a lack of 'effective managerial or senior clinical leadership,' and a 'lack of control systems in place to manage risk.'

The 100-year-old building, as it is currently configured, is 'not fit for purpose' and 'the review team seriously doubts if it ever can be.'

'Inexperienced staff' are asked to take on 'significant responsibility for critical areas' and 'there is no clear assessment of what constitutes appropriate staffing levels on the wards at Ridge Lea, with budgets failing to reflect that actual staffing needs.'

While it praises the commitment of ordinary staff, the report points out several inadequacies in strategy and the remoteness of management.

The report has been welcomed by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) - but a spokesman warned that complacency must be avoided in implementing the report's 48 recommendations.

David Jordison, chief executive of the Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust, says he hopes to implement most of the 48 recommendations in a report prompted by a 'whistle blower.'

"The financial situation of the trust makes implementing the report very difficult," said Mr Jordison: "This trust is short of cash and we have been asking the NHS for more money for a long time.

In a sense we are not entitled to it because our funding is based on an allocation formula.

"We can implement most of the recommendations without using more money, but if you are looking, for example, at training staff in new procedures, that would cost money because we would need to take staff off the ward and replace them.

That would cost money and we have not got it.

The 35-page report makes 19 conclusions.

The review panel was chaired by Prof William Bingley, a non-executive director of the trust.

The trust announced in June that it is making £ 1.9 million in cuts in order to balance the books.