NHS bosses say they will not pass on debts of £5 million to Bucks GPs - who take over health budgets in two years time.

An overspend of £7m plunged NHS Buckinghamshire into the red in 2008/09 and brought fierce criticism from a national watchdog (see link below).

About £5.3 of that deficit remains, but bosses at the primary care trust (PCT) say it will be paid off in full by April next year.

PCTs, which decide where health funding is spent, have been told to clear any debts before they are scrapped in 2013, so the boards of medics that replace them can start off on a sure footing.

Emily MacDonald, a spokesman for the organisation, which is now part of the NHS Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Cluster, said it “will be paying the outstanding £5.3million of its legacy debt in full in the current financial year”.

She added: “This repayment arrangement has been agreed with the Department of Health and the PCT is currently forecasting a small surplus at the end of the current financial year.”

NHS Buckinghamshire received a more positive report from the Audit Commision for 2009/10, which was published in February.

However, the watchdog said it “does not have adequate arrangements for managing its resources”, such as its workforce or buildings.