Powys teaching Local Health Board (tLHB) is drawing up plans to reduce its anticipated overspend, but insists it will not be axing services and instead will look to make efficiency savings, at the same time as the NHS is celebrating its 60th birthday.

It had told the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) it expected to make losses of £17.95million in 2008/09, but has been told in return it must reduce that figure to under £11million. This has left Powys tLHB looking to make savings of £6.95million in the current financial year, which it must outline in a plan to be submitted to WAG by July 17.

Powys tLHB has historic debts of around £4million and must shell out a further £12.8million to other public bodies in Wales, which bailed it out during the last financial year.

This means that by the end of the current financial year it could be facing a debt of £27.8million, even after making cut backs.

Rebecca Richards, finance director of Powys tLHB, said WAG had felt it should reduce its expected deficit for the year by £6.95million, because this figure relates to "issues" other NHS bodies in Wales must also deal with.

She said Powys tLHB is looking at how it can operate more efficiently to make the savings, and this includes reviewing the way it commissions services.

Ms Richards said savings could include asking GPs to prescribe different drugs, when cheaper alternatives are available, and added: "We are not talking about cutting back on any services. It is about being more efficient in the way we deliver services.

"This is about being more efficient with the use of our resources."

She added patients could even see more services delivered in Powys, if it is a cheaper option and safety isn't compromised.

"If a body overspends there is a requirement that at sometime in the future that deficit must be repaid," she said.

Brecknock and Radnor Community Health Council (CHC) vice chairman, Ken Harris, who lives in Knighton, said he knew Powys tLHB's debt had been getting worse, but didn't realise things were so bad.

"Obviously there is concern about how they are going to tackle this," he said.