Frontline health services in Croydon are being weakened by a “lack of planning” and “underfunding”, a patients’ group has warned.

Charlie Ladyman, chief executive of Healthwatch Croydon, has called for the borough to receive a share of national funding “proportionate to the borough’s needs”.

It comes after the Government’s public accounts committee yesterday published a report that found cost-cutting and “unrealistic” targets set by national bodies have resulted in staffing shortfalls and a reliance on agency staff in NHS trusts.

The report, entitled ‘Managing the supply of NHS clinical staff in England’, warned the Government must "get a better grip on the supply of clinical staff in order to address current and future workforce pressures”.

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Ms Ladyman said: “It is of great concern that the quality of Croydon’s frontline health service is being compromised by a lack of planning, and more critically, underfunding.

“Croydon is London’s largest borough and the UK’s 12th largest.

“Croydon’s public health report presents a very diverse population in terms of age and background, which needs a range of services to reflect demand and should receive funding proportionate the borough’s needs.”

Last month Croydon Health Services NHS Trust revealed an unprecedented £36.4 million deficit and has borrowed £26.4 million from the Department of Health to pay off a backlog of creditors.

RELATED: NHS England funding will leave Croydon CCG with £18m shortfall

Trust budget papers also revealed it had asked NHS England and Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group to pay its bills early to cover “cash-flow problems”.

The trust has also faced a shortage in nurses, with 258 positions vacant in July 2015 according figures obtained by the Royal College of Nursing.

In February Croydon CCG was left £18 million underfunded despite a £26 million funding increase from NHS England.

Councillor Maggie Mansell, chair of Croydon Council’s health and wellbeing board, said: “What is distinctive about Croydon is it has been underfunded for decades.

“Everybody in the health service is under some stress because it is underfunded.

“There is a pressure keep in budget so people don’t want to fill posts and when they find they need somebody they get someone from an agency.”

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A spokesperson for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said: “We have 280 more doctors, nurses and therapists working in Croydon compared with three years ago, and we are working hard to retain more of the staff we train, but despite continued efforts we need to recruit more permanent employees.

“This challenge is not unique to Croydon, and is particularly difficult in London where there is limited availability of trained doctors and nurses.

“To ensure we continue to deliver safe care, we have used agency staff to cover vacancies in some clinical areas.”