NHS trusts have actually been asked to make extreme cuts as the service faces a forecasted shortfall of almost ₤ 7 billion, health leaders alerted today.

In a study for NHS Providers, 47 percent of trust leaders warned they are rolling back services to stabilize the books, while another 43 percent are thinking about doing so.

Rehabilitation centres, talking therapies and diabetes services for youths are amongst services at risk.

Eighty-six percent of participants stated their organisation is having to cut tasks in non-clinical teams, while 37 percent plan to cut scientific posts.

A number of trusts are aiming to cut 500 tasks or more, with one planning as lots of as 1,000.

NHS union Unison's head of Pile stated: "Ministers shouldn't be insisting trusts balance their books while ignoring the destructive effects for patient care and a demoralised workforce.

"The NHS needs more staff - not fewer workers - if hold-ups and waits on patients are to end."

It comes as NHS primary executive Sir Jim Mackey informed a Medical Journalists Association event in London the service had "maxed out on what is inexpensive."

He stated that the NHS was likely to have a ₤ 6.6 bn deficit this year, regardless of a budget plan of around ₤ 200bn.

Though he has demanded unprecedented cost savings, he slammed the "normalisation" of poor care, saying that, 10 years earlier, "we would have never ever accepted old women being on corridors beside an [A&E] department for hours on end."

We Own It founder and director Cat Hobbs stated: "Back in 2012, the NHS was rated as the best healthcare service worldwide.

"That was before the legislation that deliberately opened our whole NHS to profiteering.

"Sir Jim Mackey is absolutely best to say that clients being treated in passages and cars and truck parks is inappropriate. If he wants to stop this scandal while conserving money, he should end privatisation as quickly as possible.