The cash-strapped hospital trust which serves a third of Hertsmere residents could face a deficit of more than £100 million by 2012, it has been revealed.

An audit carried out by the NHS disclosed that West Hertfordshire NHS Trust tops a list of trusts which could be forced to cut services or close hospitals to pay off debts.

It has been suggested that the trust, which has an accumulative deficit of £41m, may have to sell off St Albans City Hospital to end its debt.

Pat Munday, the clinical director of Watford Sexual Health Centre, based at Watford General Hospital, resigned from her post last week, claiming the trust is paralysed by staff shortages.

The Hertsmere MP James Clappison said that the lack of central Government funding for Hertfordshire was crippling' the service.

"The Government needs to put more money into health services in Hertfordshire and it needs to do it now," he said.

"I'm extremely concerned about the dire financial situation of NHS services, which is having a very negative impact on patient care.

"Sexual health services are vital and people need to be seen quickly if they have concerns. Any delay in patients seeing someone could be a casualty for the NHS and the individual."

The Government's funding formula has also been heavily criticised as many parts of the north of England receive 30 per cent more than is allocated to health services in Hertfordshire.

On average, people in London are allocated £1,400 per head; nationally the average is £1,200 and in Hertfordshire it is £1,000.

Robert Hillyard, vice chairman of Herstmere Patients Forum, said: "The Government takes no account of the fact we live on the borders of London. It's a very expensive area to provide healthcare to but it doesn't seem to understand that."

A spokeswoman for the trust said the predicted £100m figure did not take into account the list of cost-cutting measures recently introduced by the trust to claw back its debt.

"The trust is clearly taking action to bring spending back into line with income," she said.

u As part of the trust's cost-cutting measures announced in April, 500 frontline jobs have been axed and all emergency care is set to be consolidated at one of its hospital sites, which include those in St Albans, Mount Vernon and Hemel Hempstead.