The health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, should be "held to account" over a £94m national health service deficit, the Conservatives said today.

New figures released by the Department of Health showed the NHS crisis is worsening with a multi-million pound net deficit expected by the end of the year.

Tory shadow health spokesman Stephen O'Brien said the report showed government could not be "trusted" with the NHS.

"Patricia Hewitt must be called to account, as must [the chancellor] Gordon Brown, who is driving these cuts," he said.

The cash crisis shows no signs of abating despite Ms Hewitt's efforts to sort out the financial chaos. Earlier this year NHS trusts were forced to axe jobs and close services to restore financial balance.

The Department of Health has predicted a £94 million net deficit by the end of the 2006/07 financial year, which contrasts sharply with the £18m surplus predicted in a similar report just three months ago.

The gross deficit predicted for the year is £1.18bn, up from £883m three months ago.

The net year-end figure takes in the level of NHS surplus in other NHS hospital trusts.

However, today's figures show the number of organisations forecasting deficits has also gone up - from 120 to 175 - although fewer than last year are reporting large deficits.

Total costs of NHS redundancy payouts could rise to £70m, according to today's figures, casting in doubt claims made by Tony Blair, just last week that the true scale of redundancies was just 930.

Healthcare unions have repeatedly warned that the scale of job losses is likely to rise to around 20,000, including freezes on vacant posts.

The Department of Health cited "organisational change in the primary care trust sector" as a key factor behind the deficits, following the decision to streamline the 300 primary care trusts and 28 strategic health authorities.

David Cameron today condemned the number of reforms carried out under nine years of Labour rule.

The Tory leader, who is seeking sees the NHS as a key policy battleground, is on a two-day whistlestop tour of NHS hospitals across the country to "demonstrate" his support for the NHS and talk to frontline staff.

Mr Cameron visited Ipswich hospital, Suffolk, which according to today's published figures faces a £16.5m deficit.

"We must avoid more of the pointless reorganisation we have had over the last nine years, and second, we have got to trust professionals in our health service more", he said.

"I am here to demonstrate our support for the national health service, and our opposition to the cuts that are taking place right across the country. Here in Ipswich 350 jobs are being threatened. Across the eastern region 3,600 jobs are being threatened." The Liberal Democrats said Ms Hewitt's plans to restore financial balance by the end of the year now looked set to be nothing more than a "pipe dream".

Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary, said: "It is difficult to see how the situation can get better if the damaging deficits are getting worse.

"Government promises that the NHS will break even by the end of the year have proven to be a pipe-dream rather than an honest assessment of the state of our health service."