Future of children's hospitals threatened in Britain

The crisis in the National Health Service in the UK deepened this week as four children's hospitals warned health ministers they will be forced to cut specialist services.

The cuts are because of miscalculations in the new payments-by-results system championed by Tony Blair as part of his NHS reforms.

The threat to specialist services for children was revealed by the Liberal Democrats, who say the trusts are facing a £22m shortfall in the new financial year.

The four hospitals Great Ormond Street, Alder Hey, Birmingham and Sheffield hospitals are part of the National Children's Health Alliance, and they claim the proposed funding will damage the provision of cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and spinal surgery.

The news is almost bound to attract even more criticism for Mr Blair's reforms, which have been responsible for countrywide job losses and budget deficits approaching £800m.

Mr Blair is expected to attempt to relate the crisis stories to the wider frame of improving the health service and say structural change within the NHS will give patients greater choice.

The hospital trusts blame an "inaccurate and highly insensitive tariff", something they claim they have sought to renegotiate with the Department of Health for 18 months without success.

While NHS Trusts have recently announced 7,000 job cuts, a report by the centre-right think-tank Reform has predicted up to 100,000 could go, as many trusts face budget deficits.

Some in the media are suggesting that the closure of dozens of hospitals is a reality as forced cuts in services become inevitable as managers respond to changes in the way NHS trusts are funded.