'This will impact residents': Southend Hospital campaign group react to job cuts
A CAMPAIGN group dedicated to protecting patient services at Southend Hospital has spoken out following the announcement of further Mid and South Essex NHS job cuts.
The Mid and South Essex NHS Trust is set to slash 743 jobs before next March, citing a need to maximise value for money and put resources where they are needed most.
A spokesperson for Save Southend NHS, has said that now is not the time for cuts and that any amount will have serious impacts on patients.
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"Given the many long waiting lists and severe shortage of beds across all departments, we cannot see how any jobs can be cut from frontline staff numbers," said the Save Southend NHS spokesperson.
"For a long time now many wards have had limited staffing - sometimes below recommended levels.
"All three hospitals, Southend, Basildon and Broomfield have closed wards, with not enough staff to open them.
"Patients are not always receiving the level of care they should and staff are constantly being expected to do extra hours and shifts just to maintain very bare levels of care.
'Any job cuts will have a seriously negative impact on patients.'
Vital - The trust is responsible for Basildon and Southend hospitals (Image: Google Maps) The Trust is currently facing an estimated £80 million black hole in its budget and the latest round of cuts follows cost-cutting measures last year that saw 450 positions slashed.
Matthew Hopkins, chief executive of Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, said: 'This is a continuation of our work to ensure we have the right staff in the right places to deliver the best patient care while spending taxpayers' money responsibly.
'The number of posts and roles across our organisation has grown by 2,000 in recent years, so we are reviewing staffing models and looking closely at roles to see whether they are genuinely needed and represent value for money.'
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