Cash-strapped hospitals in Buckinghamshire stand to lose millions of pounds after failing to deliver on financial targets and ploughing £22 million into temporary staff, it has emerged.

Healthcare bosses in the county have warned it is likely they will fail to deliver their financial plan for the year, admitting it could jeopardise the future of the organisation.

From April to December 2015, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust recorded a deficit of £10.4 million, with board members now predicting between a £6.7 million and £14.4 million loss by the end of March.

Fears are growing that the losses will impact on frontline services and hospital officials says they are treating the matter “very seriously”.

In a recent report, staff were warned that there could be major consequences while it was suggested it “has the potential to result in an adverse impact on quality”.

Health spokesman for Wycombe Labour, Linda Derrick, said: “They themselves have said the consequences are major if they don’t deliver the plan and have assessed it’s likely they won’t deliver the plan. It’s bound to have a knock-on effect.

“What is likely is they will finish this financial year in deficit on the financial plan and be losing around about £10 million.”

Considerable risks which were highlighted in the report, warned that the trust would struggle to fulfil financial duties if it did not control expenditure, particularly on temporary staff.

In the first eight months of the year, the trust spent £22,357,000 on temporary staff costs.

Concerns were also raised in the report that there will be insufficient cash to manage working balances and satisfy payroll, creditor and servicing historical debt requirements.

Across the country, the NHS is facing huge deficits, with the Bucks trust highlighting that most other medical authorities are experiencing financial difficulties and predicting that they will end the year in deficit.

A trust spokesman said: “This has also been a challenge for Buckinghamshire; we unfortunately ended last year in deficit and it is unlikely that we will meet our planned financial total at the end of this year, although we are working hard to achieve the best possible result.

“We are doing this whilst continuing to improve care and the patient experience.

“There are a number of factors influencing the underlying financial position in the NHS and nationally there is a focus to help local systems deliver a more sustainable, transformed service and improve the quality of care and NHS finances over the next five years.

“We take this matter very seriously and are working to tackle these challenges together and continue to develop and improve services for our communities.”