HEALTH workers facing the axe from an in-debt hospital today (Wed) took their case to 10 Downing Street.

Bosses of the Pennine Acute Hospital Trust (PAHT) originally warned that up to 800 jobs could go to tackle a £21m predicted deficit. Now they say they will have to cut 325 jobs and 250 beds.

Pennine staff have spent months lobbying local MPs to give the trust more time to pay back the cash. Now they are taking an 8,000-name petition to Tony Blair. They join other protesters from the region who fear plans to cut around 50 staff from two of Greater Manchester's mental health trusts could jeopardise the safety of vulnerable patients.

Pete Hinchliffe, Pennine Unison representative, said: "We have had demonstrations and protests, we have spoken to the trust management and local MPs and we're no further forward. We hope that by going to Downing Street we can make ministers listen and change their policy.

"We are skilled staff and we don't want to lose our jobs but we're also concerned that the cuts they are planning would make it impossible to deliver a quality healthcare service to local people."

PAHT recently announced plans to close an old people's rehabilitation ward at Fairfield Hospital in Bury and they are now consulting on the plan which would axe 28 beds and 30 nurses.

At least 55 posts are set to be axed at Pennine Care, which is also set to close two day hospitals providing mental health care for people in Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, Stockport, Tameside and Glossop. And last week staff passed a vote of no confidence in bosses of the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust (MMHSCT) over plans to axe 40 out of 160 community nurse posts and six out of 40 occupational therapists, while management is increased from 14 to 38.

Trust bosses hope to avoid redundancies by spreading the changes over the next few years.

MMHSCT will have to compete to provide some services in a process open to charities and private companies and unions are becoming increasingly concerned about health privatisation.

The protesters are set to leave from Piccadilly station and join campaigners from across the country in a march organised by the Trade Unions Congress. They will march under the banner "Keep Our NHS Public" across Westminster Bridge to Westminster Central Hall.

Karen Reissman, of the MMHSCT staff union's forum and a top member of Unison, said: "We can't believe in 2006 that managers are cutting beds and community care and reducing the level of service to the extent it will be unsafe."

She added: "We want MPs to know what is going on, we want people who read the papers and believe the NHS is getting better to understand what is happening."

Tweet