Hundreds of jobs to be axed at Royal Blackburn and Burnley G

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HUNDREDS of jobs will be axed at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals as they aim to save £131million over the next five years, a leading campaigner has predicted.

Patients champion Russ McLean said a huge shortfall in government funding meant jobs on the front line were threatened as East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) attempted to balance its budget.

The trust has put forward dozens of ideas to save £26 million per year without shedding staff, and said there were no planned redundancies.
Amongst its proposals are reducing inappropriate hospital admissions and delayed discharges, quicker diagnosis, partnering with other organisations, and optimising use of its estate.

But with two-thirds of its budget spent on staff, Mr McLean said job losses were ‘inevitable’.

The chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Patient Voices Group said: “Savings of this size will always mean job cuts, and hundreds of posts are likely to go.
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