'Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort': Shropshire NHS group to cut 400 posts for £20m saving

Up to 400 posts are set to be cut at a Shropshire NHS group, but the organisation says compulsory redundancies will be a “last resort”.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Community and Hospitals NHS Group, which manages both The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, has confirmed it will be looking to cut £20 million from its spending on staff.

The organisation employs around 10,000 people across a number of facilities, including Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

As of the end of August SaTH had around 7,642 full-time workers and used 638 bank or agency staff.

A spokeswoman said the group hopes to meet the target through a combination of methods without compulsory job losses.

They include natural vacancies, with around 60 people leaving the organisation each month; reducing the amount spent on bank and agency workers; redeploying staff; and a voluntary redundancy scheme.

SaTH spends around £3.5m per month on bank staff and £0.5m per month on agency staff.

Group chief executive Jo Williams said: “Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort, and we aim to keep these as small as possible.”

The trust is aiming to make £44.3m of efficiency savings this financial year. It said that so far it has delivered £16.6m - more than ever at this point in the financial year.

The savings come against a backdrop of an agreed plan with NHS England for SaTH to balance its books by 2029/30. The organisation said it has reduced its budget deficit from £100m in 2023/24 to £45.1m in 2025/26.

The group has also said that it will continue to recruit staff for “roles essential to providing safe, patient care” irrespective of the savings plan.

Mrs Williams said she appreciated the news would cause concern for staff and said the group “will do everything we can to support them through these changes”.

She said: “Our priority is delivering safe services for our patients. We have made significant progress in the last 12 months on improving performance and productivity and reducing waiting times for our patients, and last year SaTH delivered its financial plan for the first time in 10 years.

“To continue our improvement journey, we need to release investment to modernise the care we provide, such as more services in the community and more digital tools. This means working differently so we have the right staff, with the right skills, in the right places to provide excellent patient care, and staying within our budget.

“Everyone is valued, and we are doing all we can to retain our skilled and experienced staff. We will continue to review all vacancies and promote new skills, learning and flexible working opportunities. Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort, and we aim to keep these as small as possible.

“We know this is a worrying time for some of our staff, and we will do everything we can to support them through these changes. We would like to thank staff for everything they are doing to care for our patients and support each other.”