EAST Lancashire’s hospitals are to shed almost 900 jobs including doctors, nurses and dentists.

Bosses have revealed the drastic plans to axe a fifth of the workforce at Blackburn, Burnley and Accrington Victoria hospitals over the next five years.

Unions said they feared for patient care as up to £100million is slashed from the budget, in response to the government’s demands for £20billion ‘efficiency savings’ from the NHS.

This could lead to longer waiting lists, fewer available treatments, a reduction in the number of staff to tend to patients and even more ward closures.

Bosses insisted services would not suffer and pledged to avoid compulsory redundancies, instead using unfilled vacancies to make the reduction.

Human resources director Ian Brandwood said the size of the hospital’s workforce - currently about 5,200 - would be cut by around 200 people each year until 2015.

He said the majority would be ‘non clinical’ staff. But the trust’s projection includes almost 50 fewer doctors and dentists, 226 fewer nurses, midwives and health visitors, and a reduction of 126 in the number of therapists and diagnostic staff.

The loss of 250 staff classed as ‘administration and estates’ includes hospital cleaners, porters and doctors’ secretaries. There are to be 97, rather than 110 managers by 2015.

Unison rep Tim Ellis said: “Everything affects something. The health service is based on teamwork. If one bit of the team goes you affect the whole thing.

“We recognise that the trust is working in difficult circumstances and is doing all it can not to make cuts in patient care.

“But I am clearly very concerned about this impact this will have on patient care. The financial pressures and staffing reductions will clearly put pressure on patient care and access to services.”

The number of beds is likely to be reduced as patients are discharged sooner into community care, saving money and freeing up space. This could even lead to more ward closures, although there are no plans for this at the moment, said Mr Brandwood.

Mr Brandwood said most of the reductions would be staff not ‘directly responsible’ for patient care.

He insisted cash saved by reducing staff sickness absence would help hit minimise job losses. The trust has to save between £15mililon and £20million over the next five years.

Mr Brandwood said: “We will attempt to make these reductions without reducing the quality of patient care we provide.

“If we improve services we give, reduce the length of stay, then we do not need as many beds in the hospital. That doesn’t mean the level of treatment will be reduced.”

The cuts, revealed by a Freedom of Information Act request from the anti-cuts False Economy campaign group, ‘made a mockery’ of the coalition’s pledge to protect the NHS budget, according to Blackburn MP Jack Straw.

He said: “The health service, which has had massive improvement in recent years, will go into reverse.”

But Jake Berry, the Conservative MP for Rossendale and Darwen, branded this ‘nonsense’.

Mr Berry insisted the NHS budget was being increased year on year, but critics say this has been ofset by the demand for ‘efficiency savings’ from hospital trusts as well as rising costs.

He said: “Increased spending must be met with reform to ensure that the money is spent wisely. I call on the trust to ensure there is no cutting of front-line services.”

Burnley’s Liberal Democrat MP Gordon Birtwistle, a long-standing campaigner on hospital issues, called for a rethink from the trust, claiming money could be saved by cutting down on agency staff.

He said: “It’s totally unnecessary. As far as I am concerned they have no reason whatsoever to get rid of any front-line service providers.”