Up to 1,000 nurses, midwives and other frontline hospital staff could lose their jobs after a hospital announced plans for a series of cuts in a bid to save £30 million.
About one in six full-time posts at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, in Stoke-on-Trent, could be cut, with around 750 employees facing compulsory redundancy.
The hardest hit sector will be nursing and midwifery where 370 out of 2,500 posts may be axed, while 200 healthcare assistants, 180 clerical and administration staff, and 73 healthcare scientists could also lose their jobs.
Fifteen consultants will also see their hours cut from an average of 11.5 shifts a week to ten as part of the cost-cutting exercise.
The cuts could result in the loss of 150 beds, as medical staff are urged to reduce the length of patients' stays.
The trust, which launched a 90-day consultation process yesterday, said it needed to save money to address the deficit that emerged last year.
Staff are being invited to apply for voluntary redundancy or to take early retirement, and the exercise should be completed by mid-June.
The trust is expected to end the current financial year £15.5 million in the red, but a hospital spokesman said cuts had to be made to avoid debts spiralling up to £30 million by 2008.
The trust, which has 6,500 full-time staff and employs more than 7,300 people, is adamant the proposed cuts will not impact on patient services.
Managers plan to reduce the workforce across the board, with estates staff, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and staff-grade doctors also set to face redundancy.
Antony Sumara, the trust's chief executive, said: "We hope once this most difficult part of the changes is completed the vast majority of staff who remain can begin to feel more secure and confident in the future.
"This is a very good hospital and I know it is only through the tremendous efforts of our staff that we have met our targets and made changes to our working practices that have so improved life for our patients, so I am deeply saddened that we now find ourselves in this position.
"Once this process is over, I firmly believe we will be a very strong trust, able to go forward confidently and provide first class services for our patients and good working conditions for our staff."
There are already strict controls in place on recruitment to vacant posts and staff who wish to be considered for voluntary redundancy, early retirement, or reduced working hours have been invited to come forward.
A hospital spokesman added: "There's not going to be any loss of patient services, but we have to face up to the fact that we've got to become much more efficient in a number of areas."
