Staff fear jobs, beds to be cut at health trust

10:57am Thursday 7th September 2006

JOBS are to be cut and hospital beds closed at Winchester and Eastleigh health trust in a bid to balance the books, the Hampshire Chronicle can reveal.

The trust, which runs the Royal Hampshire County Hospital site in Winchester, aims to save £15m by December 2008.

Staff were this week fearing that hundreds of jobs could be axed over the next two years as part of a radical restructuring.

Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Healthcare Trust has had multi-million pound debts for several years, but NHS managers say the financial position is "worse than ever before".

The trust has invited consultants Health Works to produce a savings plan, called Fit For The Future, because its own financial recovery scheme is not saving enough money.

Hospital bosses claim it is too early to say how many jobs will be lost, but most will be through "natural wastage" and freezing of posts.

Compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out. A memo to staff and managers said they will be a "last resort".

Job losses at the trust, which employs 3,000 people and has a turnover of £83m, will hit medical and non-medical staff, such as ward clerks and cleaners.

Hospital bosses blame a "difficult financial environment" for having to find new ways of delivering services.

They say tackling inefficiencies such as bed-blocking, increasing day cases, and reducing hospital stays, will mean there is a need for fewer beds - and staff.

The trust hit the headlines last April after the Chronicle revealed two elderly women had been in the RHCH for more than two years, despite no longer needing hospital treatment.

Managers are also considering selling more buildings on the RHCH site.

They have already sold Mount Hospital in Eastleigh, Highcroft in Romsey Road, Winchester, and three blocks of former staff accommodation, netting millions of pounds.

Doug Smith, spokesman for trade unions at the hospital trust including UNISON and the Royal College of Nursing, said they were extremely concerned about the cuts.

He said: "There are rumours flying around the hospital of hundreds of possible job losses.

"Staffing levels have already been cut to the bone. We have already gone through a process of freezing posts.

"Clearly there is grave concern about patient care and reduction in service levels at the RHCH.

"The other concern is that once again the trust has indicated they are selling-off property.

"We feel that it is asset stripping and will put the trust at even more risk in future."

But a spokesman for the trust, which provides services to 240,000 people, said: "The whole rationale is to protect patient services for the future."

Trust staff will be consulted over the changes over the next few months.