GPS are making an urgent plea for funding as auditors look to make more cuts in east Cheshire.

Deloitte has been called in to assess the finances of NHS Eastern Cheshire clinical commissioning group (CCG), which plans and buys healthcare in the area.

With the firm looking to find more savings at a CCG where finances are already stretched, GPs have set up a website to inform patients as they step up the fight for more cash.

One GP, who wished to remain anonymous to protect their surgery, told the Guardian that residents need to be made aware of the situation before more ‘damaging’ cuts are made.

“Deloitte is coming in, looking at the CCG’s spend, and will be asking GPs to make some very worrying decisions,” they said.

“The funding formula, much like the schools one, takes funding away from east Cheshire and puts it into deprived areas.

“But it doesn’t take age into account – this area has one of the oldest populations in the country, we have the second highest number of nursing home residents in the UK.

“We are asking for a fair promise. The Government talks of a seven-day NHS – it wants a Rolls Royce but it’s funding a Robin Reliant.”

The CCG already has the lowest referral rate in Cheshire and Merseyside, while it saved £3.6 million in prescriptions last year and has provided training for GPs and clinics to provide more services in the community without additional funding.

Meanwhile, the NHS is also struggling to recruit GPs across the country, with more than 600 GP trainee vacancies in 2015 demonstrating the largest ever shortfall in the number of young doctors joining the profession.

“East Cheshire is known for its high quality care and efficiency,” the GP added.

“GPs here do more in the community, make fewer referrals, and massive savings have already been made.

“The next hit will really be crunch time for patients.”

Cllr Gary Barton, Conservative Cheshire East Council member for Wilmslow West and Chorley, believes that health funding should be reviewed with the area facing an increasingly elderly population.

“This is an issue that CEC has looked at, and the recent rise in council tax has gone towards adult social services, which helps the older population,” he told the Guardian.

“But it is a problem and there needs to be a look at how healthcare is provided for a population which is changing.

“With added care for dementia for example, there is an added strain on resources and it’s something that the Government should look at moving forward.”

For more information on the financial situation surrounding NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG, visit nhssos.org.uk