Completion of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital could be pushed back due to the collapse of Carillion.
The construction giant went into liquidation in December with debts of around £1.5 billion, midway through their work on building the new city centre hospital.
Hospital bosses had hoped to the £335m site would be finalised by the end of 2018 but are increasingly resigned to the project encountering fresh delays.
Aidan Kehoe, chief executive of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “There are highly complex discussions taking place between various parties to get sub-contractors back on site as soon as possible.
“However many of these firms are facing financial difficulties as a result of Carillion’s collapse, therefore this process will take some time.
“Given this situation, we expect a significant delay and it will prove challenging to get the new Royal finished before the end of the year. The Trust is doing all it can to minimise the delay.
“Our local politicians and others have all been hugely supportive and we will continue to liaise closely with them and the Department of Health.
“We all want the best for our patients and the people of Liverpool and that is to move into our world class new hospital.
“When it is built, the new Royal will be at the heart of one of Europe’s leading health and life sciences hubs and will provide the best possible environment for cutting-edge healthcare and research.”