Staff braced as hospitals aiming to shed 700 jobs

More than five per cent of positions at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will be axed by 2014 as managers slim down the organisation in preparation for years of austerity owing to the crisis in public finances.

Other hospitals are also drawing up plans to cut staff numbers but bureaucrats are expected to bear the brunt of initial efficiency savings with primary care trusts and strategic health authorities first in the firing line.

It was reported yesterday by the Health Service Journal that staff at the Department of Health, which has around 1,000 employees in Leeds, have been warned they face significant budget cuts this year. The NHS IT programme, which also has headquarters in Leeds employing hundreds more staff, could also be targeted. Temporary and contract staff are likely to be the first to be shown the door.

The Yorkshire Post has already revealed at least 50,000 public sector jobs in the region could go in the next five years as Government cuts bite. The NHS has been told it needs to make 20 billion in savings in the next four years.

The NHS in Yorkshire could face savings of 2 billion in coming years leading to the closures of services at some hospitals. Trusts are exploring cutting red tape by merging back-office functions with other public services including councils and universities, while NHS and social care services run by councils could also be combined.

Hospitals face making efficiencies as more care is provided in the community, with district hospitals likely to face the biggest losses.

Latest figures show staff numbers at the teaching hospitals in Leeds fell by nearly 350 in 2009-10. Yesterday the trust's board was handed projections which would see another 700 positions go by April 2014, bringing total staff numbers to 12,600.

Bosses were warned the trust faced "one of the most difficult periods in its existence", requiring savings of 40m each year.

A report said: "Our ability to respond quickly and effectively to this scale of savings will be the most significant challenge we face and it will be dependent on our ability to release efficiencies in every ward and department."

It said the hospitals needed to improve their quality of care and access to services and treat more patients, including those who had opted for treatment elsewhere.

"High quality care and productivity must be embedded in all we do and waste and delays to patients accessing our services must be eliminated in every part of our hospitals," it added.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has confirmed plans to slash NHS administrative costs by a third over four years will start in the coming months.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Departmental budgets are still being reviewed.

"Plans for departmental efficiency savings will be published in due course."