QUEEN Elizabeth Hospital has been revealed as technically bankrupt, along with 17 other hospitals in England.

The Department of Health has confirmed the hospital, in Stadium Road, Woolwich, cannot survive unless it undergoes a fundamental reorganisation.

Others trusts in debt include Queen Mary's, Chislehurst Road, Sidcup, and the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital cannot afford to repay its £6.4m debts.

But it aims to make savings of £8.5m by the end of March next year.

A Queen Elizabeth Hospital spokesman said: "Our trust has been tackling our deficit problem for the past year and will continue to do so over the next year.

"We are working very closely with colleagues in primary care trusts and other acute trusts to seek ways to resolve the financial position while ensuring we maintain high quality services for patients."