Waiting times in A&E departments are likely to increase after an NHS trust cuts £8.5m of funding across west Hertfordshire.

Councillors have warned of the catastrophic impact the cuts will have on patients’ treatment and time spent waiting to be seen in hospital.

Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group has confirmed that it will pull £8.5m of funding to social care.

John Wood, chief executive of the county council, said this will mean a reduction in the number of intermediate beds – beds used for elderly people who have received treatment but no longer require A&E attention. 

There are also likely to be job losses for carers who visit elderly people at home after treatment, meaning more people will have to stay in hospital longer. 

Hertfordshire County Council confirmed it is seeking legal action after the shock announcement from the CCG.

Mr Wood said the cuts, which are believed to have been ordered by NHS England, will have “significant human consequences”.

At present, Herts Valleys CCG and East and North Hertfordshire CCG are legally obliged to annually pay £7m each to the county council’s social care fund. But both also pay an extra £8.5m as a negotiated contribution and it is expected that East and North CCG will also cut its extra funding.

Hertfordshire county councillor Sara Bedford said: “All this will mean is more people going into hospital and fewer people coming out.”

She said she did not understand how this decision could be made without any consultations or risk and impact assessments.

She added the funding is necessary for anti-bed blocking measures, which help keep hospital waiting times down.

In a letter from Mr Woods to Herts Valley CCG, he said: “I have to question the basis upon which such a decision can be made.

“Given the financial situation that Herts Valley CCG has found itself in, I would have hoped all significant decisions henceforth would be taken with a full risk and impact analysis so as not to make its performance in West Hertfordshire worse. 

“Most importantly, the decision will cause significant human consequences which I do not believe the CCG has weighed up and considered in a proper way.”

The cuts will affect care and hospitals across west Hertfordshire including Three Rivers, St Albans, Dacorum and Hertsmere.

St Albans county councillor Chris White said: “It seems that NHS England has decided to punish the CCG.

"It is legally questionable whether the entire amount can be terminated and we understand Herts County Council will be considering a legal challenge. This, we fully support."

Herts Valleys CCG has admitted it is under considerable financial pressure and that NHS England has been "very clear" about its need to review its expenditure.

Dr Nicolas Small, chairman of Herts Valleys CCG, said: “As we have announced recently, Herts Valleys CCG is now forecasting an overspend on our budgets due to a financial position that has deteriorated. This means that we are not now able to commit to this payment for the next financial year and we spoke to our colleagues at Herts County Council to let them know about this as soon as we took this decision.

"NHS England has been very clear with us about the need to review all lines of expenditure and one of the areas of scrutiny must be expenditure that is discretionary and not core health spending; the annual allocation we receive is specifically designed for health services, not social care."