HEALTH unionists fear patient care will suffer as Derriford Hospital cuts hit already "over-stretched" nursing staff.

Staff representatives questioned the true scale of job losses and how wards will cope with winter pressures.

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust yesterday announced it will shed 281 posts across Derriford as part of its £31million savings plan.

Managers said cuts are necessary in the face of budget cuts and rocketing costs – but patient safety will remain their top priority and compulsory redundancies will be kept to a minimum.

Cost-savings will also be made by closing 130 beds and two operating theatres.

Sue Matthews, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) regional officer, said: "The Government has pledged to protect frontline services yet Plymouth Hospitals has announced that more than 50 per cent of the jobs set to be cut are nursing posts.

"Nurses are the front line of patient care and a reduction to nursing staff will compromise the hospital's ability to provide safe, quality care."

Ray Stewart, GMB organiser for Derriford Hospital, said: "The unions feel quality of care will suffer in the long term as a result of cuts to frontline staff.

"Nursing staff are being overstretched to their limits at the moment, in terms of the work loads they have to cope with. It's because the trust has held off on recruiting staff to fill vacant posts."

He added that cuts to support staff have meant nurses are taking on clerical roles.

Mr Stewart raised concerns about the rationale behind reducing beds and staff as more care is provided in the community and people's own homes.

"In the trust's view there will be less need for nursing and support staff on the hospital site," he said.

"But we feel the structure out in the community is not there at this time – not enough to cope with reductions.

"The ongoing changes in the NHS and primary care trusts have not been tried and tested."

He added unions will be keeping a close eye on the consultation process to make sure staff are treated fairly and consistently.

John Howes, Unison branch chair and Derriford intensive care nurse, said: "My opinion as an ex nurse manager, on the evidence before me, is I don't believe our wards are offering consistently safe, quality care to patients – not in the way it's defined by the trust.

"From my own observation, there are many times when we transfer patients to a ward after hours when staffing levels are such that I wonder how they can safely deliver patient care."

He said unions believe the number of posts affected will be greater than the figure announced.

"The 281 posts are whole time equivalent," he said. "In that respect we estimate it will be probably around 500 posts, when part-time posts are taken into account."

Mr Howes raised concerns about how the hospital will cope with winter pressures such as flu, respiratory problems and cold weather falls.

"If we are removing 130 beds and downsizing the workforce, what happens in the autumn if we have a bed crisis?," he asked. "Last year we had 90 escalation beds."

Savings comes amid budget cuts, rocketing costs of treatments, a £20billion national efficiency drive and NHS restructuring.

Managers said they aim to redeploy many staff in to hundreds of vacancies which have built up across the hospital. Paul Roberts, Plymouth Hospitals chief executive, said yesterday at Derriford's board meeting: "The most important word to us is safety. We have to make sure that we properly consider the safety implication of every change we make."