A FINANCIAL row at Salisbury District Hospital, which threatened to leave patients untreated, has ended after NHS bosses stepped in and delivered a stern ultimatum.

Hospital board members, who said that they would not treat non-urgent patients unless their funding authority removed a cap on their cash allocation, have bowed to pressure and pledged to reach a compromise with the holder of the purse strings, south Wiltshire primary care trust.

Salisbury MP Robert Key said: "The hospital and PCT have had their heads banged together in no uncertain terms. Hard lessons have been learned.

"The hospital was in a no-win situation and understandably felt obligated to refuse to get itself into debt but the PCT was not in a position to compromise, with 422 separate targets set by the government for them to meet this year."

Mr Key characterised the 'stand-off' as an embarrassing interlude for all concerned but expressed confidence that the crisis would result in a stronger and more productive relationship between the hospital and the trust.

Hospital chief executive Frank Harsent denied that there had ever been any bad feeling between the hospital and the trust.

He said it had been a week of intense discussions, during which he and head of the trust John Nicholas had met every day.

He said: "There is not a huge problem between us. We have a thorny issue to deal with and we will do so together.

"It is a tough job to do the best for patients. Expectations are high all round and that creates tensions of its own.

"The good news is that patients won't suffer."