HOSPITAL managers and health union leaders in Oxfordshire yesterday vowed to work together to avoid redundancies threatened by a £44m cost-saving drive.

Last week it emerged that 366 jobs could be lost after the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust announced the intended savings as part of its efficiency plan for 2009-10.

About £11m of the £44m savings, from an annual budget of £600m, would be accounted for by reducing staff costs.

Union officials say the move could adversely affect services for patients.

On Thursday, Mark Ladbrooke, the county health representative of trade union Unison, called a meeting for staff at the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford.

He said: “Health staff are concerned about these proposals and we had a scattering of representatives from different departments at the meeting.

“We’re now putting together an action plan to take forward to try to avoid cuts in services.

“We will meet staff at The Horton Hospital in Banbury on Monday, and at the Churchill Hospital at a later date.

“Our aim is to address the Oxfordshire health overview and scrutiny committee on this issue on May 14.”

Earlier this year, the trust opened a £109m cancer centre at the Churchill Hospital, with 10 operating theatres and 217 beds.

The cost of the building is contributing towards budget pressures faced by the trust.

ORH trust spokesman Helen Peggs said: “There were about 17 people at the meeting. The human resources department has been holding weekly meetings with all our union reps to keep them fully informed.

“Our aim is to get to a position where we don’t have to have redundancies — it’s our joint aim with the unions to avoid redundancies if we possibly can.

“We’re not anticipating service changes that would be a concern for the scrutiny committee.”

Julian Hill, a spokesman for the Oxfordshire branch of the Royal College of Nursing, said an estimated 366 jobs out of 10,000 at the trust could be affected, including managerial staff and consultants.

He said last night: “It’s very early days, but we think there’s a possibility of a number of specialist posts being lost.”