HEALTH bosses said news that the Royal Bolton Hospital is on the road to recovery is a fantastic Christmas present for patients and staff.

Watchdog Monitor has awarded Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Bolton Hospital, a certificate of compliance on a range of issues.

It follows a torrid few years for the trust, when it was rapped for its handling of superbug Clostridium difficile (C Diff), not hitting 18-week targets for referral for patients, its financial planning and governance breaches.

Now Monitor have decided the organisation has met its C-Diff and 18 week targets and addressed management issues sufficiently — although it says it still has concerns about the financial outlook at the hospital.

Monitor says the level of savings planned at the trust — £73 million over the next five years — looks "exposed" compared with action taken over the last few years.

Watchdog chiefs are worried that the hospital's sustainability is dependent on a loan of £30 million from the Department of Health to improve its buildings, IT system and A&E.

Talks have now been scheduled with the Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys services for the hospital, and the trust board to see how the organisation is able to balance its books and look after the needs of patients.

Chairman of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust David Wakefield said he was delighted with Monitor’s decision and hopeful that the last remaining issue will be addressed soon.

He said: “We breached the terms of our licence in 2011 and, as a result, we had several enforcement notices and requirements placed upon us by our regulator, Monitor.

“We have done everything asked of us and there remains only one final issue to resolve.

"Monitor is keen for us to conclude our contractual discussions with Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, to ensure we are viable over the next few years.

“These discussions are in hand and I am hopeful that we can finalise matters early in the New Year.

“Without a doubt this is terrific news for us and I would simply like to say a huge thank you to our staff for delivering a great service in very demanding circumstances and for making us a viable trust, both financially and clinically, again.

“From a personal point of view I believe it is a fantastic Christmas present to all our patients and they can now be confident that their hospital and community services stand as an equal amongst the best.

“More importantly, the team here can develop and implement the strategies required to make us even stronger over the next few years.”

Mr Wakefield added that Monitor has also supported the hospital's request for £30 million to help transform A&E, which is now being examined by the Department for Health.

A spokesperson for Monitor said: “The trust has made a great deal of progress over recent months and patients and staff should be pleased by the improvements in waiting times.

“However, there are still some outstanding issues with the trust’s finances and we want to see these resolved.”

Su Long, chief officer of NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We welcome the news that Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has now been taken out of breach by Monitor.

“NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group is working closely with the trust to plan for a financially sustainable NHS in Bolton.”