Redundancy numbers revealed for NHS trust which runs West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, and Newmarket Community Hospital

The number of redundancies at a Suffolk NHS trust last year has been revealed as it continues to take ‘difficult actions to improve its financial position’.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request, submitted by SuffolkNews, shows there were a total of 14 redundancies at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) in 2024.

The departments affected were the staff psychology service, clinical helpline, emergency preparedness resilience and response (EPRR) and business and information.

Earlier this year, the trust which runs West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket Community Hospital, confirmed staffing levels will need to drop from 4,964 to 4,759, by the end of March 2026.

In addition to the 14, the FOI revealed that in the year-to-date there have been five(or less) redundancies made by the trust - all in the strategy and transformation department.

FOI regulations mean that if the number of redundancies is five, or lower, it can’t be given as it may identify those who were affected.

Minutes from a trust board meeting in January, showed staff had raised concerns about job security, financial constraints, poor communication and lack of civilIty, in the previous three months.

This indicated that staff morale was low before the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) announced there would be a reduction of 205 full-time equivalent roles in the total workforce at WSFT - including bank and agency staff.

In the minutes, under the freedom to speak up section, it stated: “Some staff’s perception that the worst of the financial difficulties were over was reported.”

Dr Ewen Cameron, chief executive of WSFT, said: “Initial communications to staff had detailed that this would be a three-year challenge and nothing less had been intimated.”

Responding to the FOI and concerns raised by staff, Jeremy Over executive director of workforce and communications at WSFT, said the trust was committed to living within its means and was reviewing services as part of its financial recovery programme.

Mr Over said: “Any proposal to restructure a team involves consultation with the affected colleagues and we work with our staff to carefully support them through such processes.

“Where staff or services are impacted in this way it is no reflection on their work and contribution to the trust.

“We are having to take difficult actions to improve our financial position, and we do not underestimate the impact of decisions on the ground; I thank staff for their support and commitment as we look to transform services and maintain safe patient care.”

The decrease in posts at trust will not be made up entirely of redundancies, it may include natural turnover and continued reductions in the use of temporary staff.

WSFT said consultations are a sensitive and confidential process which usually take between four to six weeks to complete.

The trust said it has been communicating with colleagues about its serious financial position since last summer.

In trust board papers, published in March, Dr Cameron said at the end of January the trust was facing a £23.3m deficit - £9m worse than planned.

Dr Cameron said: We are working at pace to support the trust’s financial recovery plan; and are on track to deliver within our revised year end deficit target expected at £26.5m.

“Our underlying deficit is reducing due to a lot of hard work and the measures in place to reduce spend.”

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