Trust plans to lose hundreds of substantive posts

East Sussex Healthcare Trust is aiming to reduce substantive staff from 7,645 at the end of the 2023–24 financial year to 7,255 in March 2025, according to board papers. Bank staff would reduce by 10 per cent from 563 to 507, and agency also by 10 per cent, from 112 to 101.

The trust had a budget for 8,320 full-time equivalent staff — both temporary and permanent — at the end of 2023–24. This will reduce by a further 457 to 7,863 by March 2025, although HSJ understands it will have greater flexibility on that number if it reduces its spending on high-cost agency staff.

The board papers added the trust is helping teams “identify where pay spend may have become inefficient and why”, which could include “legacy tasks” introduced during covid which were no longer necessary for quality or safety, and improving decision-making by anybody who could assist with workforce “usage” through training and upskilling. 

The board papers continued: “We are implementing robust pay spend controls and closing any process loopholes to support budget holders and senior managers working to their budgets.” 

Like many other trusts, East Sussex’s staff numbers increased during the pandemic. Its 2019–20 annual report shows it had 6,827 employees, although service changes — such as a new community diagnostic centre — may account for some of the increase. 

A trust spokesman said: “The figures quoted are broadly indicative of the scale of staff changes that the trust could make. In order to deliver our plan for this year, there will be a focus on workforce, including a reduction in spend on high-cost agency staff, removal of some existing vacant roles, and a rigorous review process for new vacancies.

“Overall, this will allow us to use our staff more efficiently and reduce our overall costs. We are not running any redundancy schemes for existing staff and we have discussed our plans with union representatives.

“Alongside this we will also be developing new models of care, utilising our strengths as an integrated trust, to ensure patients are being cared for in the most appropriate place, enhancing out-of-hospital care.”

Systems have been coming under increased pressure from NHS England to constrain further workforce growth, after NHS staff numbers grew by about 150,000 during the pandemic. Earlier this month, HSJ reported two integrated care systems in the Midlands region planned to reduce substantive staff, while others are looking to cut their use of temporary staff. 

Updated 14.18 19 June with “posts” rather than “staff” in headline