North's health services job cuts 'cannot be avoided'

Dramatic cuts that could see more than 2,000 jobs go across health and social services cannot be avoided, the North's Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said today.

The minister said that many of the job losses could come from changes already planned in the review of public administration, and expressed hopes that the proposed cut of 700 nursing posts could be eased through planned reductions such as retirements.

But he insisted financial restrictions meant that major savings must be made and said: “There is no way out of this.”

The minister said that it was essential to make changes because of the increasing financial pressure on his department.

“It is all about taking money out, yes,” he said.

“But we are reinvesting that money in. It’s about making the system more efficient.

“The fact is that the demands on the health service are rising every year and we have to get more efficient, because if we don’t do that, we will eventually run out of money.”

More than 700 nursing posts are under threat, as well as 900 administrative jobs and 450 social services positions.

The proposed cuts were outlined yesterday by the minister as part of plans to slash up to 2,500 health service jobs over the next three years.

Mr McGimpsey said he had to make savings in line with Stormont efficiency plans, while health trusts would now hold consultations before a final decision was made early next year.

The minister said: “I am charged with finding this, I have no choice.

“This is a decision that has been made by the Executive, it applies to all departments and it applies equally to the department of health.

“That’s not easy. There are tough choices here.”

Mr McGimpsey told the BBC that, in some cases, people could be cared for in their homes or in communities, rather than hospitals.

But the Royal College of Nursing’s Mary Hinds said that, while the efficiency targets were planned to free funds for frontline services, she argued that it was nurses who were in the frontline.

“Should this plan be implemented, we are very worried, not only about the nurses who may lose their jobs, but also for those left behind who will inevitably be under even greater pressure,” she said.

Mr McGimpsey said: “I am looking at steps of how we mitigate this. In administrative and clerical, most of those jobs have already been factored in over the past couple of years as a result of the amalgamation of trusts through the reform of public administration.

“As far as nurses are concerned, it is sensitive all round, but the fact is that around 750 nurses leave the system each year...so we would anticipate a reduction of about 2,000 over the next three years.

“My focus therefore is not least around student nurses coming out seeking work...it’s about making sure that the posts are available for them. That is where a lot of my focus has been on being able to give them reassurance and we don’t plan to cut down on the numbers of students in training.”