Around 150-200 jobs could be lost
11:44, 29 Jul 2025Updated 12:31, 29 Jul 2025
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has also been tasked with reducing non-clinical roles.(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
Hundreds of non-clinical NHS jobs are set to be cut in Gloucestershire in bid to reduce staff costs by 50 per cent.
The Labour Government announced plans in March to abolish NHS England and fully integrate it into the Department of Health and Social Care.
And NHS England announced that the running costs of integrated care boards, who plan and commission health services across the country, would also be reduced by around 50 per cent.
And in Gloucestershire there are plans to merge the ICB with the one in Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire.
Councillor Andrew Gravells (C, Abbey) asked about the impact of the ICB reduction in staff expenditure by 50 per cent at the health overview and scrutiny committee this month. He asked: “In Gloucestershire, how many jobs are within that figure?
Mary Hutton, outgoing chief executive of NHS Gloucestershire ICB, said it depends and it’s a range of jobs. However, it is estimated to be between 150 to 200 jobs, she said.
Chairman Iain Dobie (LD, Charlton Park and College) asked if that was the reduction rather than the overall jobs currently. “So you have twice that number at the moment?”
Cllr Gravells asked if that would be the case with the other ICBs Gloucestershire will merge with.
“That would be a lot of redundancies and a lot of worry and fear for the staff, obviously,” he said.
“It’s important that the staff are kept fully briefed. That is a huge number.
“I’m quite surprised by the size of the reduction in terms of staff.”
File image of GRH(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
Becky Parish, associate director, engagement and experience, spoke as a member of ICB staff.
“We are getting regular communications from Mary, colleagues, directors as soon as they hear anything we are hearing about it as quickly as possible.
“That’s been the case ever since the announcement in March. It’s not easy news to be hearing but we are hearing everything as quickly as we possibly can, just to reassure you.”
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Kevin McNamara also told the meeting they have been asked to reduce the number of non-clinical roles.
“Like elsewhere in the NHS, the significant financial savings required to be able to deliver a balanced plan this year of £42m, you’ve heard from Mary about the headcount reduction or the work to reduce the cost base in the ICB.
“At the time that was announced nationally for ICBs, there was also a national ask for trusts like ourselves to reduce the growth in non-clinical functions that we experienced since Covid by 50 per cent.
“That is a not insignificant ask of us. We are working though that now and we are doing that through natural attrition, holding vacancies.
“This is part of the reason why I think that link to some of the ten year plan work around digital and how we can automate some of the things we do will make some of that a bit easier.”