NHS care partnerships are due to end the year £377 million short with fears voiced that patients are being left "suffering".
The country’s healthcare system has increasingly been pushed to breaking point in recent years, with Covid exacerbating trends already seeing people wait longer than ever for care.
Now, at least 14 NHS Integrated Care Systems (ICS) have admitted they are due to end the year in the red, with some forecast to be needing as much as £50 million to ensure they can avoid being forced to make "efficiency savings".