The chairman of St George’s Hospital Trust has warned the NHS is heading for “financial ruin” as it was revealed the trust is running at a £34m deficit this year.

In July, the trust was warned by a Government watchdog it did not have an adequate recovery plan and faced a deficit of £46.2m by April next year.

The September financial report reveals that the trust has run at a £34.6m deficit from the 12 months before, £7.5m worse than the deficit forecast.

A renewed forecast puts the deficit at about £60m by April 2016.

From September: NHS bosses in charge of £410m Wandsworth budget quizzed by public

From July: St George's faces £46.2m deficit this year, watchdog warns

The hospital trust’s chairman, Christopher Smallwood, said an accelerating financial disaster is in progress in the NHS nationwide, and at least £4bn a year extra from the Government is needed.

Writing for the Guardian, Mr Smallwood said: “The NHS is heading for a real smash, and practically everyone running a hospital knows it.

“Hospitals are at 100 per cent capacity at the moment – and the onset of winter could be a nightmare.

“But beyond this, an accelerating financial disaster is in progress.

“This year, three-quarters of hospitals are running deficits, some of them extremely large – and 90 per cent, including St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, expect to be in deficit by the end of the year.”

He blamed an overspend of £3.4m on staff on the need to pay over the odds to hire temporary workers to cover vacancies.

Throughout September, the trust ran at a deficit of £3.3m, £0.2m worse than the recovery plan. A financial report states it is too early to hope this slow down is a positive trend.

The trust has already made £11.7m in savings in the year to November, through cost improvement programmes and there are plans for £15.2m of cuts in the second half of the year.

Mike Squires, a doctor who campaigns with Keep Our NHS Public, said: “Christopher Smallwood is absolutely right.

“The NHS is under funded, people are living longer, it needs more money. If there is a hard winter it is going under.

“St George’s is missing targets in everything from accident and emergency to cancer referral, it is breaking down.”

A Department of Health spokesman said: “We believe in the values of the NHS, which is why we have invested the £10bn the NHS said it needs to fund its own plan for its future.

“There is no denial that the environment is tough but the NHS must deliver its side of the plan with cost-controlling measures like clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies and expensive management consultants.

“Last year, the NHS was ranked as the safest healthcare system in the world by the Commonwealth Fund and although the NHS is busy, it has been preparing for winter for months and services are ensuring patients get treated quickly.”