More than 100 jobs might be cut by the NHS trust in charge of Northwick Park Hospital as it struggles to claw its way out of spiralling debt.

Politicians warned this week the financial crisis in Harrow’s NHS has worsened significantly in the last year, with the trust responsible for Northwick Park Hospital now having an underlying deficit of £100 million.

The trust is expected to cut this deficit to £61.5 million by next March, and is planning to cut 140 full time staff posts.

Gareth Thomas MP has written to health secretary Jeremy Hunt to call on the government to ensure that Harrow’s NHS receives the funding it needs.

The Harrow West MP said: "The trust that manages Northwick Park Hospital is being asked to make savings of around £34 million this year, and is expecting to lose the equivalent of 140 full time staff.

"Harrow CCG, which decides how money is spent in our local NHS, is also facing severe financial pressure, with their deficit now standing at more than £20 million.

"For too long under the Tories Harrow’s NHS has received less than other areas, and we have seen huge pressures build up at Northwick Park.

"Jeremy Hunt urgently needs to get a grip, and make sure that Harrow’s NHS receives the funding we need."

Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) inherited a deficit of £18 million from its predecessor Primary Care Trust when the coalition government’s reforms were introduced in 2013.

Since then, Harrow’s NHS has received the lowest funding per head in London, and the deficit now stands at £20.1 million.

London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust, which manages Northwick Park Hospital, initially projected a deficit of £88.3 million for the financial year 2015/16.

But it has been struggling to meet its targets in the last year and at a board meeting last month the trust reported an underlying deficit of £100 million.

The trust has been asked to draw up financial plans that would cut this deficit to £61.5 million by the end of the financial year 2016/17.

Some of this will be achieved by increasing income but the majority is proposed to be delivered through cost savings, and is expected to involve cuts of 140 full-time staff posts.

The upcoming closure of the Charlie Chaplin children’s ward at Ealing Hospital means that from June 30 children will not be admitted to A&E at Ealing, and will be diverted to other hospitals including Northwick Park.

The MP has launched a petition calling for an urgent review of Harrow’s funding settlement for the NHS which can be viewed at www.gareththomas.org/save_our_staff.