NHS: Painful Decisions

The latest figures on NHS finances don't make pretty reading. NHS England alone faces a projected deficit of £6.6 billion for this financial year and the situation looks as bleak right across the NHS in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The NHS has always had to make tough choices about what to prioritise but this deficit is prompting health bosses to make decisions that were previously unthinkable to balance the books.

New research shared exclusively with the BBC by the independent think tank The Kings Fund, surveyed Chief Executive and financial leaders across the NHS in England about the kind of difficult decisions they are having to make because of the huge deficits

But faced with having to make efficiency savings, cutting staff numbers and rolling back on patient services, BBC Health correspondent Dominic Hughes learns how painful these decisions really are, from the people having to make them.

Presenter: Dominic Hughes Producer: Jay Unger Editor: Richard McIlroy Executive Editor: Pete Wilson