HEREFORD Hospitals Trust needs nearly £500,000 to balance its books by March.
Chief executive David Rose said every effort would be made to find it.
At one time the forecast deficit for March ranged from nothing to £1,347,000 but, at a board meeting this week, it was updated as from nothing to £447, 000.
But non-executive director Stefan Ludwig warned it was not necessarily the worst scenario, the amount could end up being much higher.
Director of finance Kieran Lappin agreed that there were factors which could substantially boost the debt and the trust was certainly not complacent.
Mr Lappin reported that the cost of employing agency nurses was going down month by month but the cost of medical staffing was above budget because of the necessity to employ expensive locums.
The trust's manpower numbers were largely in line with its budget - the overspend reflected the type of staff employed.
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