Barts Health Trust has been placed into financial special measures by the NHS after it forecast the largest budget deficit of any healthcare provider in the UK.

The trust was one of the first five providers placed into special measures under the new scheme, in order to bring about “swift improvement in finances”.

Barts, which operates Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, will not be removed from special measures until it can demonstrate it has returned to “financial discipline”.

Alwen Williams, Barts Health chief executive, said: “Our new leadership team is already taking concerted steps to recover our financial position by improving the productivity of our five hospitals.

“Since we are the biggest NHS trust in the country it is not surprising we have the largest deficit, however we know we have been spending more than we receive and this cannot go on.

“Providing quality healthcare is labour-intensive, and like all other NHS hospitals, the biggest single element of our finances is the wages and salaries of our doctors, nurses and support staff.

“This accounts for over 60 per cent of our annual turnover of £1.4bn. Recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of clinical staff is crucial to maintaining the quality of our services to patients.

“We welcome the extra support the national NHS can provide to help us tackle these challenges.”

The trust had already been placed in special measures over the standard of its care following a report by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last year.

CQC inspectors ruled bullying and harassment were rife among staff members at the hospital and patients were being put at risk by the quality of care.