289 health posts axed

This excludes temporary and agency staff and precurses even deeper cuts widely anticipated after the forthcoming draft budget settlement and the Comprehensive Spending Review 2011-2015.

Based on the Trust’s estimate of its own staff numbers (12,500) - one post will be lost for every 43 workers employed. Most of these posts will be frontline.

The Trust expects 143 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) nursing posts to be phased out as it delivers savings of £19.9m during 2010/11. This will amount to one fewer nurse for every two thousand people in the Londonderry, Limavady, Strabane, Omagh and Fermanagh areas.

Twelve Medical, 12 Allied Health Professionals, 62 Administrative/Management, 36 Social Services, 12 Professional and Technical and 12 Ancillary and General posts are also set to be lost.

The revelation is contained in a Freedom of Information (FOI) response provided to the ‘False Economy’ think-tank.

The projections are for the current year (2010/11) only and deeper cuts likely to be demanded through the proposed new Draft Budget 2011-5 have not yet been factored in. Neither does the 289 figure take account of temporary, agency or bank staff.

Responding to the FOI request in Septamber a spokesman for the Trust revealed: “The Trust is expected to save £19.9m or 4.3 per cent of trust expenditure during 2010/11. As the budget has not been announced for the next Comprehensive Spending Review period the savings target is not known for the period 2011/12 - 2014/15.”

He went on to state “the number of posts to be lost in 2010/11 is 289 WTE split as follows: Medical 12; Nursing 143; AHP’s 12; Administrative/Management 62; Social Services 36; Professional and Technical 12; Ancillary and General 12.”

He continued: “In addition the Trust is required to save on a non-recurring basis £5.9million from temporary/bank/agency staffing. The Trust is unable to give a WTE equivalent as the target relates to expenditure reductions as opposed to number of posts.

“As the budget has not been announced for the next Comprehensive Spending Review period the number of posts to be lost is not known for the period 2011/12 - 2014/15.” He also revealed the Trust’s overall cumulative deficit at September 2010 was £8m.

The Sentinel asked the Western Trust if the figures had yet been revised as a result of the Draft Budget proposals.

Lesley Mitchell, Director of Finance Western Health and Social Care Trust said: “The information quoted relates to the savings the Western Trust was required to save in the last Comprehensive Spending Review period which ran from 2007 to 2010. The Trust is currently awaiting the final budget for the HPSS over the next Comprehensive Spending Review period which runs from 2011 to 2015.”

Meanwhile, yesterday Trust chiefs briefed Derry City Council on the recent X-ray debacle at Altnagelvin’s medical imaging department.

Trust staff also updated the Council’s Regional Services Committee on plans for a new £50m plus satellite radiotherapy centre and on the challenges faced by the Trust in trying to meet the demand for home help for older people.

It emerged the Trust had already overspent on its 2010/11 Primary Care and Older People’s Services budget (nursing homes and home help) by £1.088m and £462,000 on its domiciliary care budget by January of this year.

Chief Executive Elaine Way was joined by Executive Director of Nursing/Director of Primary Care and Older People’s Services Alan Corry Finn, Director of Strategic Development Alan Moore, Lead Radiologist Dr Brendan Devlin and Consultant Oncologist Dr David Stewart.

Both Ms Way and Dr Devlin once again apologised for last year’s X-ray backlog which ultimately resulted in four delayed cancer diagnoses and the death of one individual.

Dr Devlin insisted top Harley Street doctor Professor Gishen - who conducted a review of the Altnagelvin radiology department in November - was happy with the way the backlog had been dealt with. Dr Devlin told the Council: “We know this is not going to happen again.”

Ms Way said Trust management was supportive of Gishen’s recommendations for new CT and MRI scanners and 3.5 WTE extra radiologists to bring Altnagelvin up to a complement of 17. But she indicated that the Heath and Social Care Board (HSCB) had not yet said it had agreed with this.

She also revealed the Trust will soon adverstise four radiology posts including that of a breast cancer specialist.