Hundreds more NHS jobs are set to be cut across Southend, Basildon and Chelmsford hospitals, as the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust pushes ahead with cost-saving plans.
The dramatic reduction in staffing comes just a year after 450 roles were axed across the hospitals. The trust aims to make this new wave of 743 job cuts by March 2026, revealed in a board report.
Trust bosses say the latest cuts are part of an urgent need to maximise value for money, restructure services, and plug a £118 million deficit that has been branded “not sustainable” in recent board papers.
Matthew Hopkins, chief executive of the trust, said: “This is a continuation of our work to ensure we have the right staff in the right places to deliver the best patient care while spending taxpayers’ money responsibly.
“The number of posts and roles across our organisation has grown by 2,000 in recent years, so we are reviewing staffing models and looking closely at roles to see whether they are genuinely needed and represent value for money.”
The trust – which oversees Southend Hospital, Basildon Hospital and Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford – has not yet revealed which specific job roles will be cut.
The board report also lists several critical staff groups which continue to be a top focus for recruitment at the hospitals:
- Nurses in A&E
- Senior and specialist nursing roles, such as chemotherapy
- Emergency medicine doctors
- Senior midwives and neonatal care professionals
- Radiographers, sonographers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists
- Middle-grade doctors
- Clinical support staff
The contradiction between job cuts and possible staff shortages has fuelled concern from campaigners and health unions alike.
Tom Rhodes, Unison’s Eastern regional organiser, said: “Mid and South Essex hospitals are suffering one round of cuts after another. Staff are already struggling after last year’s job losses.
“The fact the trust couldn’t hit its last savings target in 2024 shows there’s simply no fat left to trim, let alone more than 700 jobs.
“All these NHS workers are playing an important role in delivering first-class patient care and getting waiting lists down. Any further cuts will make the huge tasks even harder.
“The trust’s finances have been rocky for years, but this latest raft of job losses has been ordered in Westminster. Government ministers need to invest in the NHS, not order the scrapping of more jobs.”
A health campaign group in Southend has also hit out at the proposals. Save Southend NHS said it fears the cuts will inevitably hit patient care – even if they are focused on non-clinical roles.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Even if these are admin staff, it ultimately affects patient service delivery in an NHS with ever-rising demands. This is the result of years of mismanagement and under-investment, leading to long waiting lists and poor care.”
The hospital trust has also approved an £85 million deficit plan for 2025–26, suggesting further cost-saving pressures may be on the horizon.
One local resident, who asked not to be named, said: “You can’t keep expecting overstretched staff to do more with less. If anything, we need more boots on the ground – not fewer. It feels like frontline staff and patients are paying the price for the system’s wider financial problems.”