Oxfordshire's largest NHS hospital trust is set to break even only a year after incurring debts of £21m.

Staff at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust have fought hard to make savings of £15m since the beginning last April, when they were forced to sell the Radcliffe Infirmary to recoup some of their deficit.

But managers have warned that next year will be no easier, and savings of about £20m will be needed to prevent the trust crashing back into the red.

Finance director Chris Hurst said: "We've made savings of £15 to £16m. That's an incredible achievement."

Despite selling the RI and taking out a £25m loan, the trust still insisted that individual departments made considerable savings to ensure they did not go over budget.

Employing staff, including advertising and recruiting, and buying equipment, were closely monitored, and had to be given clearance at director level.

Mr Hurst said £7m was set aside as a reserve, to pay for "rainy day" emergencies, underwrite measures to ensure the hospitals kept to Government targets, and offset the overspend.

As a result, the trust would be able to pay off the deficit, which is estimated to reach between £2.6m and £3.9m by the end of the financial year in March.

Last year, the debts were so serious that Thames Valley Health Authority asked for help from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.