HEALTH could be forced to make more cuts in the future, the department’s new chief officer has said.

Mark Cooke (pictured) took over the reins of day-to-day business at Health from the start of the month and warned the recently-announced £6m. worth of cuts might not be the last.

Health announced the savings, which include a proposal to reduce the number of surgical beds from 50 to 44, closing the staff dining room at Castel Hospital and the night-time staff dining room at the PEH, to bring its costs within budget after overspending in recent years.

Mr Cooke said the measures would achieve their goal for this year.

‘But we will continue to have challenges, as the whole world does,’ he said. ‘There is a big gap in public finances and we will have to work towards filling that.

‘What I have to continue to do is advise the board to consider which areas they want to maintain as services, which areas can be more efficient, which areas can be more productive and, in some cases, where we may change our fee structure for the services we currently offer.

‘But that is all part of the Fundamental Spending Review and we are working with the Financial Transformation Executive on that.’

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