HOSPITAL trusts in Cumbria have taken out more emergency loans from the government than those in any other county in the country.

The Department of Health had lent a total of £234.960m to the two organisations in charge of running the area's acute hospitals by April this year.

Both are now attempting to pay back the massive sum - which equates to £473.50 per resident - with interest, while struggling to find new ways to save money in a bid to bring their finances back into the black.

In total, hospital trusts across the country are reported to have taken out loans totalling £2.7bn.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle as well as the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, has outstanding debts of £130.607m, more than any other hospital trust in the country in proportion to its annual turnover.

Its neighbouring trust in south Cumbria; the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Barrow's Furness General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, has accrued a debt of £104,323 - equivalent to 37 per cent of its annual turnover.

Both trusts are considered to be in financial distress as they balance the cost of providing hospital care for the county's population of just 500,000 against cuts to the annual funding received from the government.

Janet Higgs, UHMBT's deputy finance director, confirmed the trust forked out £1.677m in interest payments alone from its already straightened budget last year.

Mrs Higgs added: "The trust had an agreed planned deficit in 2016/17 and drew loans to cover this amount.

"In addition, delayed cash payments regarding the Local Price Modification and the Sustainability and Transformation Fund meant that additional loans were required in 2016/17 with repayments in 2017/18 in line with cash flows for these two areas.

"UHMBT is working on a recovery plan to get into financial balance and we will then look to agree planned term support with the Department of Health."

At NCUT - a trust only recently out of special measures - was forced to use £8.6m of its 2016/17 budget to pay back interest on money borrowed from the Department of Health.

Robin Andrews, the organisation's executive director of finance, said: "The trust has been very open about our longstanding financial challenges meaning we do require some ongoing support from the Department of Health in the form of loans.

“Over the last financial year, we have been working with our partners across west, north and east Cumbria as part of the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership to put a strategy in place which will allow us to reduce our deficit and to spend the Cumbrian health pound more efficiently and effectively together."

Why do hospitals need loans?

Hospital trusts are provided with a set sum of money each year by the government.

If this does not cover the trust's running costs - including the cost of patient care and treatments - they have to take out a loan from the Department of Health.

Do they have to pay interest?

Yes. The interest rate is set by the Department of Health based on the type of loan and how successful the trust is.

The rate varies between 1.5 per cent and six per cent. Trusts in special measures pay more interest.