HUNDREDS of hospital jobs hang in the balance after a trust set itself a target of £55m cuts.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Dewsbury and District Hospital, is in talks with staff and trade unions, saying they need to reflect changes in healthcare and increase their efficiency.

It says as part of the changes care will move closer to people’s homes.

Board members have agreed to implement cuts equating to 15% – £38m in 2010-11 and a further £17m the year after.

The trust employs 7,000 across its three hospitals, Wakefield, Dewsbury and Pontefract and bosses have so far been unable to put a figure on job losses.

The trust has warned that in the future staff will have to work in new ways and in different locations.

Julia Squire, chief executive of The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Every single NHS organisation in the country has had to take a long hard look at how it does things to find ways to improve care and be more efficient. We have been a step ahead of that with all the changes that we been both planning and implementing for many years in our local hospitals.

“We’ve seen many changes in our working practices as we’ve improved and developed our services for patients at the same time as reducing our costs.

“Over the next year or so, more care will move closer to people’s homes, our new hospitals will fully open and we are putting in place new models of care in all three hospital sites that will save lives, reduce disability and improve outcomes for patients and working lives for staff.

“Over the past couple of years, our clinical and management teams have carried out extensive staffing reviews in every area. Our plans are based on new models of care, new ways of working and new facilities that are specifically planned and designed.”

The trust has acknowledged that the changes mean a reduction in the workforce and that the need for “flexibility and change” is crucial.

It adds that normal staff vacancies and reducing the spend on temporary staff will play a role in the cuts.

The trust has outlined what it calls a Quality Innovation Productivity and Prevention (QUIPP) programme which it says concentrates on improving productivity and eliminating waste while focusing on clinical quality.