Debt-ridden West Middlesex Hospital is set to axe more than 260 jobs - including frontline workers - it has emerged.
It is feared the hospital’s plans to make savings of £19.7m over the next two years, and a total of £22m over four years, could put strain on services.
John Lister, information director at campaign group London Health Emergency, said: “They [bosses] say job cuts will mainly be administrative, but if they [administrators] are not there then who will do their job? Will it be dumped on nurses and clinical staff? The question is will scaled down services be able to cope?”
Plans approved by West Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust’s board last week showed that, following a major review of services, the decision was taken to cut the equivalent of 261 full-time jobs and 50 beds.
Figures suggest about 63 posts in the trust’s medical division, 38 in its surgical division and seven in its women and children’s department could be lost as part of cost saving measures.
Jobs at risk range from administration staff to doctors - including surgeons and consultants - along with nurses, midwives, counsellors and social workers. In total the hospital currently has 1,920 staff.
A spokeswoman for the Isleworth-based hospital said the overall reduction in medical staff would be less than 1 per cent in comparison to 35 per cent in management and administrative staff.
She said this underlined the trust’s commitment to frontline staff.
The spokeswoman said the hospital, which has an historic debt of about £21m and where about a third of patients are from Richmond, confirmed staff were aware of plans and changes would not affect care.
She said: “The reductions will be achieved through ensuring that we have the right people in the right place doing the right jobs so that we continue to deliver high quality and safe care. Our plans are predicated on prioritising clinical frontline services over non-clinical support.
“The savings in medical staff costs will be made from a reduction in the number of agency staff we use. These are being replaced by permanent staff, which improves the quality of service we are able to provide.”
The trust added there was no need to worry about reduced bed space as improvements to patient care meant the time people stay in hospital “is reducing”.
But Mr Lister said he was concerned. He added: “[The hospital] has been under pressure repeatedly and has always been struggling to cope - to take 50 beds out is very worrying.”
A spokesman for the British Medical Association said the NHS was in a period of financial difficulty and needed to look at efficiency in all areas, but patient care should come first.
He said: “It is important NHS managers ensure that changes to patient services, and the staff that underpin them, are based on the health needs of local people and not shortsighted financial decisions.
“Arbitrary cuts to areas such as administration, for example, can mean that doctors and other healthcare staff do not have the full clerical support they need to make a hospital function efficiently."
Changes are expected to start from this month as part of the hospital’s “turnaround” efficiency programme.
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