ANXIOUS hospital bosses fear a "devastating" impact on patient care if they are forced to implement additional cost-cutting measures.

The Trust Board at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, is facing a tense wait to hear if a new regional health authority will force it to make a further £6.4m saving on top of its £11m savings plan for this financial year.

Government targets say hospitals must break even by the end of March next year. But under the hospital's savings plan, it will still be £6.4m in the red by that deadline.

At a board meeting at the hospital on May 4, chairman of the Trust Board Colin Campbell said: "It is still unclear whether we will have to make a further £6.4m saving. If we do the impact would be devastating and cause unmitigating damage to patient care.

"I don't want to speculate about what would happen but if we are asked to save another £6.4m it would have to come out of services which affect patient care."

The decision rests with David Nicholson the newly appointed chief executive of the new London strategic health authority which will replace the capital's five regional strategic health authorities from July 1.

Hospital chief executive John Pelly is expected to enter crunch talks with Mr Nicholson over the "next few weeks" to see if he will agree to the current savings plan.

But if it is rejected it will see the debt-ridden hospital have to reduce its spending by nearly £18m this year as opposed to £11m.

Mr Campbell believes this would be an unacceptable amount.

He said: "Our current savings plan of £11m is already the top end of what we are able to do this year.

"With a budget of under £140m a year, this already represents a 10 per cent cut."

He added: "It is a very difficult situation. If we start reducing some of the services we provide then we will lose payment for those services which means a loss of income.

"If we make redundancies beyond our current savings plan it will get to the stage where we can't run services, but at the same time we would struggle to meet redundancy payments."

The news comes just weeks after phase two of the savings plan was set in motion on April 26.

Ninety-five staff at the hospital have been "put at risk" and up to 22 redundancies are expected when the consultations finish on June 7. A further 28 vacant posts have been scrapped.

Jobs on the line include a consultant in bio-chemistry, nurses and office staff.

The first phase of the savings plan, which concluded on April 20, saw a total of 81 vacant posts scrapped.

As News Shopper went to press it was announced six clerical staff had been made redundant and a further six staff redeployed to other posts.

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