HEALTH Secretary Patricia Hewitt, above, said trusts which could not handle their finances were providing a poor quality of service.

Talking about weak' rated trusts, which includes both the West Wiltshire and Kennet & North Wiltshire PCTs, she said: "I'm afraid that a lot of the trusts with the worst financial records are also weak on quality of care.

"We already know that some parts of the NHS need to improve their financial performance, and financially challenged organisations are already working hard to improve their position.

"But for some that is not enough, and any organisation that has scored weak on both assessments will be required to work with their Strategic Health Authority to produce an improvement plan. I will expect these to be developed within a month."

Mrs Hewitt said she believed the mergers of PCTs, as has happened in Wiltshire, would improve performance.

This year ratings include a wider range of factors, including clinical and financial performance.