450 jobs to be axed at Sandwell hospitals trust
Hundreds of jobs are to be axed at the NHS trust that runs Sandwell General Hospital in a bid to claw back more than £30 million, it has been revealed.
Health chiefs at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust have announced the plans to cut 450 posts in a bid to curb spending.
The move comes ahead of the opening of a new £350m super hospital in Smethwick in 2018. Trust Chief Executive Toby Lewis said the cuts reflect the 'unprecedented times' which the NHS faces.
He said: "The nature of NHS finances are in unprecedented times. But cuts like this are happening all over the country.
"Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust is the fourth best financially performing trust in the NHS nationally."
It will look to move some staff members who will lose their jobs into new roles within its organisation.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust employs around 7,500 people and spends around £430m of public money largely drawn from the local Clinical Commissioning Group.
That group and the trust are responsible for the care of 530,000 people from across North-West Birmingham and all the towns within Sandwell.
The trust is responsible for City Hospital on Birmingham's Dudley Road, Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich and intermediate care hubs at Rowley Regis and at Leasowes in Smethwick.
The Trust includes the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre.
Raffaela Goodby, director of organisation development said: "Like all NHS organisations, we need to deliver safe care within a budget.
"We have been explicit for several years with our staff, trade union partners, local taxpayers and NHS commissioners, that this will involve reducing the amount we spend on our pay costs, whilst increasing and protecting staff training spend.
"This July, we will take the latest step in making those changes as we consult on the redeployment of staff, and changes to roles, across our organisation.
"We expect those changes to affect around 250 existing staff, and a further 200 roles presently covered by temporary staff. The consultation will examine additional and alternative ideas, before we move forward with changes this autumn.
"In 2014 and 2015 we have delivered our promises to redeploy staff internally into new roles, which our new care model locally will need in the years ahead - with greater use of technology, and more care in local communities.
"We expect to succeed again with staff redeployment and will work closely with everyone involved."
