Hundreds of jobs at risk as hospitals slash £55m

HUNDREDS of jobs are under threat at three Yorkshire hospitals as part of savage cuts totalling £55m.

Bosses at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust yesterday became the latest in the region to reveal swingeing cuts as part of a radical redesign of its services serving more than half a million people in Wakefield, Pontefract and Dewsbury.

The savings programme aims to cut costs by a massive 15 per cent, amounting to 38m in 2010-11.

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It will mean slashing the pay bill of the trust's 7,000-strong workforce by 20m by the end of March – equivalent to 39m in a full year – with further pay savings of 12m next year.

A total of 6m has been earmarked to cover the costs of "workforce change" including redundancies.

Last night the trust was unable to put a figure on the scale of job losses but confirmed consultation with staff was underway.

And despite cuts worth 55m overall, the trust will still be left with a deficit of 8m and will require emergency funding.

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It also plans a major efficiency drive focusing on reducing the time patients spend in hospital, while plans are also being drawn up to treat more people in the community and at home. Capital investment in buildings and equipment also faces the axe.

The cuts are exacerbated by the opening of new 300m private finance initiative (PFI) hospitals in Pontefract and Wakefield which have 100 fewer beds.

The NHS in the area has a history of severe financial problems which last night triggered renewed fears for the future.

Mick Griffiths, Unison secretary at the trust, said the cuts were the price staff were paying for financing the PFI debt.

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"We are not prepared to pay the price of financial mismanagement due to the exorbitant costs of the private finance deal. It's pay, conditions and staff numbers that will bear the brunt of that. There is no financial justification for what is planned and we will be fighting for no redundancies and no pay cuts."

David Hutchinson, a retired consultant and now vice chairman of Wakefield Local Involvement group, which represents patients, said the plans were of "great concern".

"We will be seeking urgent talks with trust management to clarify what this means for patients and staff," he said.

The trust said it was examining its future workforce needs which reflected local changes in healthcare and a drive for more efficient services.

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Chief executive Julia Squire said: "Every single NHS organisation in the country has had to take a long hard look at how it does things to find ways to improve care and be more efficient.

"We've been a step ahead of that with all the changes that we've been both planning and implementing for many years in our local hospitals.

"We've seen many changes in our working practices as we've improved and developed our services for patients at the same time as reducing our costs.

"Over the next year or so, more care will move closer to people's homes, our new hospitals will fully open and we are putting in place new models of care in all three hospital sites that will save lives, reduce disability and improve outcomes for patients and working lives for staff.

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"That means we will see NHS staff working differently, in different locations and in different settings in the future.

"Over the past couple of years, our clinical and management teams have carried out extensive staffing reviews in every area. Our plans are based on new models of care, new ways of working and new facilities that are specifically planned and designed.

"The changes will mean a reduction in our workforce as all these factors enable us to provide more efficient and effective services at a reduced cost and better value for money for all of us who pay for the NHS.

"We have to recognise that flexibility and change is an ever increasing part of how organisations across the country need to operate.

"In responding to these changes, working together with our staff and flexibility will be crucial."