NURSING leaders in Oxford fear 366 health posts could be axed as part of plans to save £44m.

The Oxford Radcliffe Trust – which runs the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals, and the Horton in Banbury – has outlined its efficiency plan for 2009/10.

Among £44m of savings on its annual budget of more than £600m, trust bosses say about £11m will come from the staff pay bill.

Trust spokesman Oliver Francis said: “We are working hard to avoid a direct impact on staff wherever possible — and we do not anticipate a large number of redundancies.

“Our aim remains to reduce pay costs through how we manage vacancies, agency expenditure, and the work of our existing staff.

“Avoiding redundancies is important both for our staff, and for the trust, as it can be costly and does not help the trust to sustain a high-quality workforce,” he added.

Julian Hill, a spokesman for the Oxfordshire branch of the Royal College of Nursing, said staff were very concerned at the proposed cuts and would be seeking reassurances from trust bosses.

He added: “We estimate that 366 jobs out of about 10,000 are potentially at risk, and that could mean nurses, managerial staff, or consultants.

“Our real worry is the cut in funding will impact on services, meaning that patients would be adversely affected.

“That is something we clearly want to avoid and as a result we are seeking fortnightly talks with the trust.”

Mark Ladbrooke, a health representative for trades union Unison, added: “Our members are alarmed because this is a significant amount of money to be cut and the trust is refusing to rule out redundancies — voluntary or otherwise.”

He said staff were meeting on Thursday at the John Radcliffe to discuss the issue.

Earlier this year, the £109m Cancer Centre opened at the Churchill Hospital in Headington and Prime Minister Gordon Brown was shown round on his visit to the city in February.

The centre, which has 10 new operating theatres and 217 beds, is one of the financial pressures facing the trust this year.

But Mr Francis said: “In the longer-term, the new facilities will attract more patients and income from beyond Oxfordshire and it will pay its way.”

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Dr Evan Harris said: “Last year the trust made a surplus of £2.3m and will be asked to do the same again this year, but this money should be spent on the health of the people of Oxfordshire.”

Jaquie Pearce-Gervis, a spokesman for the trust’s Patient Focus Group, said: “I hope the trust can balance the books without jobs being lost or patient care being affected.”