NHS job cuts could quadruple

The battle to beat the financial troubles facing the NHS could lead to as many as 24,000 jobs being cut.

According to the Liberal Democrats, job losses that have already totalled more than 6,000 could roughly quadruple as the government attempts to balance the books of the health service.

“Every day brings further news of more job cuts which will undoubtedly affect frontline patient care,” said Steve Webb, Liberal Democrats health spokesman.

“Staff morale and public confidence in the NHS will continue to crumble until ministers take action to reverse this trend? What is needed is long-term planning in the NHS, not a series of short-term initiatives and sudden policy shifts which make sensible planning impossible.”

Liberal Democrats research has shown that the 6,000 job cuts have so far been made to combat ?130 million of debt, a quarter of the ?550 million the NHS as a whole is facing.

However, the Department of Health has rejected the Liberal Democrats figures, saying they “sound very much like a back-of-the-envelope calculation”.

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