A Bradford MP is asking for more cash for the city's debt-ridden hospitals.

Two weeks before the end of the financial year, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is facing an £11.3m deficit.

MP Marsha Singh has written to West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority asking for a cash injection for the trust which has already made 17 people redundant, closed wards and could axe more posts.

Mr Singh told the authority: "The central issue is that I believe deep cuts will be carried out to the detriment of patient care, patient services, staff jobs and staff morale. The only way that this scenario can be averted, is by an injection of cash, and a realistic recovery plan that can be implemented over the next two to three years."

Mr Singh also wants to see the local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) which commission services from Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital to be encouraged to pay for more patients, to increase the trust's income flow.

"If such an arrangement could be agreed for the next three years, then Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust would have some financial stability over the medium term," wrote Mr Singh.

As well as its existing debt the trust faces losing £5m in income in the next financial year because the PCTs need to commission less activity next year and the Government is aiming to cut acute activity by five per cent over the next three years.

The trust can expect to lose a further £5m in 2006/7 when the government will require PCTs to place 15 per cent of their elective requirements outside the NHS. Mr Singh said other debt-ridden trusts such as Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, had received help with WYSHA agreeing an £8.8m package for Leeds.

A WYSHA spokesman said: "Strategic Health Authorities have very limited amounts of money to distribute to health economies, the vast majority is managed by Primary Care Trusts. However the resource WYSHA has available has been fairly shared across acute hospital Trusts to support the additional costs this year of the national consultant's contract.

"Bradford Foundation NHS Trust has received around £1.5m on this basis, based on the number of consultants employed."