Health chiefs in Hounslow have blamed a poor rating from a government watchdog on bad debt.

Hounslow PCT, recently renamed NHS Hounslow, been urged to take urgent action after a national assessment by the Healthcare Commission revealed their money management and services were both below average.

The national 'health check' revealed the quality of their services was 'fair' and use of resources 'poor', meaning the PCT has made no noticeable improvement in the past three years.

Despite their rating placing them in the bottom 40 per cent of trusts, chief executive Nick Relph defended Hounslow PCT and insisted improvements were on the way.

He said: “This year we are planning a £3.7million surplus so that we can start to repay the debt accumulated from previous years. We are committed to clearing our debt in this and the following two financial years.

"Despite this we were able to deliver services and care to Hounslow residents rated as Fair. We are working hard to improve on this in the current year.”

Sir Ian Kennedy, the Commission’s Chairman, praised the many trusts who have performed better but added: “Performance is not universally good, however. We are a lot closer to getting core standards in place across the NHS but there are still too many trusts that are not there.

“Three years into this assessment, the public are entitled to expect urgent action at trusts which are still performing poorly."