WINCHESTER and Eastleigh hospital bosses have clamped down on sending patients for private treatment, in a bid to cut costs.

The trust, that runs the Royal Hampshire County Hospital and Andover War Memorial Hospital, is striving to save £11m by April and meet the Government requirement of balancing its budget.

The pressure has forced the NHS trust to become more efficient.

In the first six months of this financial year, Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare Trust forked out £1.5m on private healthcare for patients, in an attempt to reduce waiting times.

Some NHS patients had orthopaedic surgery at Sarum Road private hospital in Winchester, while others were sent to Salisbury and Basingstoke.

Health bosses aimed to quit using the private sector by this month as part of their plan to turn around multi-million pound debts.

But the trust stopped sending patients for private treatment by the end of September - nearly three months ahead of schedule.

Divisional general manager Robert Burns said: "Our staff have worked really hard to make this happen. Orthopaedic capacity has increased by 50 per cent in the last few months.

"This has been partly due to new techniques and ways of working but also because we are making better use of the Winchester NHS Treatment Centre, which has been fully open for a year now."

The treatment centre has three operating theatres and is used mainly for patients who do not require more than one night in hospital.

Mr Burns said: "Feedback from patients treated here has been excellent, with 97 per cent of people surveyed saying they would recommend it to their friends and family."

The trust is currently consulting staff on how to get the best use out of its 10 theatres, nine at the RHCH and one in Andover. Last year, 600 operations were cancelled.

Proposals include increasing operating hours from 8am to 8pm, scheduling regular planned weekend operations and more flexible working by staff between theatres.

Patients were chosen for private healthcare based on the length of time they had been waiting and the type of treatment required.

More complex cases stayed within the NHS, as private hospital do not have intensive care units.