MONEY saved by local doctors will be used to rescue health bosses from financial crisis - and GPs say they are more than happy to part with their hard-earned cash.

Fundholding doctors have made savings of £2.2 million which Bury and Rochdale Health Authority need to slam the brakes on their plunge into the red.

Recommendations from the Government mean the authority can ask - but not demand - some of this money back.

The health authority were forced to cut their budget last month after a book-keeping blunder meant they spent more than a million pounds they didn't have.

Delicate negotiations have started with the 42 practices affected after health chiefs confirmed they aim to recoup at least £500,000. Doctors will still hold onto a share of the cash for use in their practice.

Any extra cash handed over will be used to relieve emergency pressures such as bed-blocking.

Health chiefs have accepted that the move could be demoralising to doctors who have worked hard to save money in recent years, but local GPs have said they will co-operate with the demand for their cash.

So far, the authority have met with 16 practices in what have been described as "full and frank" discussions.

Mr Joe Leigh, director of finance at Bury and Rochdale Health Authority said: "We have met with doctors to agree appropriate use of the money. Some are offering to return money to help meet other pressures. We have agreements with two thirds of them although negotiations are ongoing."

Mr Richard Popplewell, chief executive of Bury and Rochdale Health Authority added: "We don't have the power to demand money but to have it would help the overspend and put us in the position to provide extra medical care."

However, he also recognised that taking savings away could also remove the incentive for GPs to budget: "I can see that if a GP has worked hard and managed to save thousands of pounds then they would not want to give it back to the health authority, preferring to save it up for their own patients," he said.

Dr Nick Woodhead, chairman of the Local Medical Council (LMC) which represents local doctors said: "There might be a loss of incentive if anyone has made a massive saving as to lose it would be disappointing. But we are not in the habit of giving up on our patients."

ZBury has the third highest proportion of GPs controlling their own budgets in the country. These GPs are known as fundholders and are allocated cash by the health authority according to how much each patient costs and the doctor's prescribing expenses.

Until now money saved by doctors who manage their own budgets could all be used for projects to develop their practice, although only with health authority approval.

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