UP to 650 jobs could be cut from East Sussex NHS in a desperate bid to make savings, a union has warned.

The news comes as cash-strapped East Sussex Healthcare Trust is drawing up its five-year financial recovery plan to reduce its £57million deficit.

According to union GMB, staff were told by senior management that up to ten per cent of the workforce, including frontline staff, may be made redundant in order to cut costs.

Gary Palmer, regional representative for GMB, said: “Let’s be clear, [the trust] aren’t alone within the NHS by overworking their staff to the point of exhaustion in order to meet patient needs and the trust’s requirements.

“Staff are constantly stressed and find themselves increasingly bullied by an employer who should be doing the most to look after staff, the NHS’s greatest asset, on our behalf.

“But where [the trust] seem to stand out is that they are, because of financial reasons, intending to cut ten per cent of the workforce to reduce a deficit.

“These job losses would push staff beyond breaking point, and we are deeply concerned by this news.”

But the trust has denied the claims made by GMB, saying no mention of job losses was made in the five year sustainability plan it published this year.

A spokesman for the trust said: “We do not recognise the figures GMB are talking about.

“Within the five year strategy we have no plans to privatise or outsource services or make any staff redundant.

“We are planning for the future based on projected demand, the profile of our local population, national best practice and advances in technology.

“Our aim is to deliver safe, high quality services for patients that are both clinically and financially sustainable.

“It is important that we involve members of staff and local partners in developing our plans and we regularly discuss emerging plans at our public board meeting.

“Our priorities are to become the best at managing frailty, ensure our community services are fully integrated and support us in continuing to provide a range of services and urgent care on both sites.”

Mr Palmer said he believed that the public version of the plan, which is still subject to change, had been abridged to omit controversial elements.

He said: “It is very strange for them to deny this after they had it up on a powerpoint in a meeting with staff.

“Our representative who was at the meeting raised the issue at the time, but management just wanted to move on and wouldn’t answer the questions.

“We need to see the full version of the plan, because these job losses would have dire consequences.”