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This is very typical. Act now, think later. This is just not sustainable and anyone with half a brain could work this out. What's more disturbing is that just simply getting rid of staff without any long term strategic planning to ensure departments and services can continue to provide a service, will have a number of negative impacts:
The economy as more people are made redundant in the context of fewer jobs to move in to.
The services they have come from as these will not be able to meet the needs of those they serve - in healthcare, quality and safety will suffer and make a mockery of working together with patients/public to improve services
Staff left will be totally demoralised and will seek alternatives if they can, risking even greater shortages and quality/efficiency problems.

I'll say it again, cutting quickly to save money today without any plans for the future, will cost us dearly in the long run. We will reach crisis and new targets will be set that mean we end up potentially spending more on temporary fixes or recruitment costs to replace where we have to.

Utter madness. I don't disagree with making things more efficient or in trying to cut costs where we sensibly can, but surely it's better to work in a slower, more considered and strategic way to make more sustainable efficiencies.

However, what would be the plan if it turns out that doing it right means we can't do it enough? Will someone address the fundemental problem of being able to afford healthcare free at the point of care for everyone? Hmm, what a dilema, find more funding from somewhere (?taxation) or cut services or radically have a hybrid system. Perhaps that is what the government are trying to do, make it so bad that changing the core principle of our NHS gets accepted. Not that I'm a cynic.

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