SOUTH East Essex Primary Care Trust will encourage the prescription of generic drugs and cut costs in community nursing services to help stem a £9.4million funding gap.

After comparing the amount it spends on hospital services with other primary care trusts, it has identified £6.3million of savings it could make in what it pays Southend Hospital.

Health bosses have also come up with other savings they claim will not impact on patients or services.

Russ Platt, director of commissioning and contracting at the trust, said: "These are efficiency savings, not cuts in service. They are realistic figures to meet this year.

"As well as the £6.3million at the hospital, we want to save £1million from prescribing services. The majority of that is based on switching to more cost-efficient pharmaceutical firms.

"When a GP writes a prescription, they are being asked to use generic rather than branded pharmaceutical firms.

"They are the same product with the same chemical make-up and so will have no difference to patients, but are more cost-efficient."

Other healthcare providers contracted by the trust, such as community nursing and out-of-hours GP services, are also being asked to make savings.

Mr Platt said: "We are asking providers to deliver some services at reduced costs. There will be no impact on patients, but it will save £1.4million.

"None of this represents a reduction in service to patients - we will still be delivering healthcare.

"We have also made £800,000 efficiency savings from management and accommodation when the PCTs were merged together."

South East Essex PCT was established in October 2006 from a merger of Castle Point and Rochford PCT and Southend PCT.

The new trust has a total budget of £471million.