Hospital workers face redundancy

The hospital is facing a projected deficit of up to £25m

Seventy staff at a Plymouth hospital will be sent letters this week saying they could be redundant by Christmas, health workers' unions said.

The unions were told by Plymouth Hospitals Trust, and fear patient care at Derriford hospital will be damaged.

The news comes as health unions plan a protest in the city at the weekend, against proposals to close a total of 50 hospital beds and lose 400 posts.

The cutbacks are in an attempt to bridge a projected £25m funding gap.

Nurses' representatives said managers had been forced into drastic measures by government under funding and its refusal to allow hospitals to manage their debts over a long-term basis.

The hospital trust said while the majority of savings would be made by freezing posts or leaving vacant ones empty, staff judged not essential to patient care or where the work could be done by others, would be made redundant.