HEALTH services in St Helens do not have enough funds to keep going – the man who oversees people’s services in the borough has said.

Mike Wyatt made the admission to councillors during a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on Monday.

The council’s strategic director of people’s services was updating the commission on the progress of St Helens Cares, the council’s new integrated care system that it hopes will save it around £80 million up until 2020.

Mr Wyatt, who is due to retire in June, was quizzed on how the borough’s health and care services will cope with bridging the funding gap.

“I think I would have to say that, as an officer, my job is to make the best out of the resources we have,” Mr Wyatt said.

“My own view is there simply isn’t enough money in the system to keep going.

“We believe that St Helens Cares, from the financial modelling we’ve done, could get us maybe three quarters of the way to the gap.

“We estimate a gap of around £95 million to £105 million by 2020 in public services in St Helens.

“We think that by working together in the most cost-effective way we can get up to maybe prudently £75 million , maybe optimistically just a bit over £80 million.”

Mr Wyatt said some “very tough decisions” will have to be made to bridge the remaining shortfall.

Professor O’Brien, who will take over from Mike Wyatt in June, said the biggest challenge facing public health services is urgent admissions.

She said the problem is escalating.

Professor O’Brien, who is also the chief accountable officer for St Helens Cares, said: “Urgent care is a huge challenge.

“If you take the CCG’s financial position, which has improved this year, the demand on urgent care still remains the biggest cost demand from my perspective.”

She said Whiston Hospital is currently escalating to the highest level at level four, which indicates it is under serious pressure.

“That is the reality, that isn’t dying down,” she said.

Professor O’Brien told councillors that getting GPs to support St Helens Cares has been “challenging” but said there is more support from the borough’s 34 general practices than there has ever been.

The council plan to launch St Helens Cares in October.