Published: Sunday, 7th February, 2010 8:00am

Drastic cuts after £10m overspend at hospitals

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BEDS and jobs will be axed at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospital as bosses scramble to claw back millions of pounds.

Chiefs at the hospitals in Slough and Ascot announced the drastic saving measures on Thursday last week as part of a Turnaround Plan after overspending its budget by £10m last year.

Plans include streamlining the clinical structure, reducing inpatient beds, improving the way operating theatres are used and reviewing the workforce across all areas. Only last week the hospitals were forced to cancel operations after running out of beds.

Chief executive officer, Julie Burgess said: "Implementing these plans will not be easy but it must be done if we are to secure the future of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We have reduced our deficit from £20million to £9.9million for 2009/2010.

"We will have some difficult decisions to make over the coming months but once they are made we will be able to focus on delivering high quality services for our patients."

The news has been unsettling for workers who say they have been kept in the dark about the plans after bosses announced their jobs were in the line in November. Alistair Maclean, national secretary at trade union Independent Democratic Union, said: "Staff have not heard anything for months and have instead been fed information in small drips and drabs.

"People are really worried and there is a lot of cloak and dagger stuff going on and it's just wrong. The problem is that there are a lot of rumours going around and people are living in fear. The trust needs to be open and honest with staff so they can go and sort out their lives."

The trust's plan will also focus on increasing day patients for certain operations and reviewing the estate management across its sites in Slough and Ascot.

Detailed plans on how this will be achieved are yet to be announced.

Despite all the cutbacks, trust chairman Christopher Langley believes this will not effect patient care.

He added: "Our Turnaround Plan will return the trust to financial balance by addressing our underlying operational and financial problems. It will enable us to continue to deliver high quality clinical services for our local population."

Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bracknell, Ray Earwicker, said: "I am outraged at the idea that such measures were being put forward. Coupled with the facilities that had withdrawn at the Trust's other hospital (Heatherwood), residents in Bracknell Forest would now have even less choice and an even poorer service."