HEALTH trusts across Dorset are having to find millions of pounds after a planned commercial investment was shelved.

The unexplained project, which would have involved the redevelopment of a non-clinical part of Dorset County Hospital, has been put on the backburner following the publication of new financial guidance.

Funding was due to be split between the county’s four NHS trusts with each then taking a share of the projected £4 million income this year.

The scheme had been included in the Dorset Integrated Care System – the partnership of public health providers – financial plan as a way of increasing income.

However, the four NHS trusts in the county are now having to look at ways to plug the funding gap the abandonment of the project has left.

A spokeswoman for Dorset County Hospital said: “We were exploring various commercial options as part of the development of land at Dorset County Hospital which could have contributed to the overall savings plan for Dorset NHS partners.

“But plans have since moved on and additional NHS financial guidance for 2019/20 means there would be no benefit in pursuing these.

“We will continue to work with our partners as part of the Dorset Integrated Care System to explore potential joint opportunities to deliver the required savings.”

Speaking at a board meeting last week, Poole Hospital director of finance Mark Orchard said it would now have to find ways to plug a gap of £931,000 this year through “system efficiencies”.

In papers published ahead of its July board meeting, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals said it was “identifying ways” to meet its share of the shortfall.

No specific details of the Dorset County Hospital project have been made public although it has already announced plans to further develop its Dorchester site.

Last month, it held a public consultation on the proposal for a new multi-storey car park which it said would free up room for new facilities.