Dr Den Langhor, BMA Mersey regional consultants committee chair and a consultant working in Mersey, said the area had had more deficit support funding withheld than any other region in England.

Dr Langhor said: ‘Consultants in the region are being forced to plug rota gaps, overseeing busy wards with not enough staff, which has a knock-on effect on hospital capacity, leaving services destabilised and patient care compromised. We demand that these funding cuts are immediately reversed for the sake of both staff and patients.'

In a BMA survey in the region, which was released in March, 88% of respondents said funding cuts were seriously harming the delivery of safe patient services. Over nine in ten (92%) supported formally entering a trade dispute should the matter not be resolved and 80% supported industrial action should it be deemed necessary.

Doctors called for the reversal of funding restrictions and for local leaders who know the local system best to be given back control to make the decisions required to deliver system improvements. They also called for the removal of recruitment freezes, enforced targets for reductions in staff headcount and removal of caps on overtime payments.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Patient safety will always be this Government's priority and we are committed to supporting NHS staff while ensuring taxpayers' money is used to deliver the best possible care.'

A spokesperson for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB said: ‘NHS organisations across the country continue to face a challenging financial outlook. We are working closely with providers and partners to identify solutions that ensure taxpayers' money is used responsibly while also supporting safe services for our residents.'