We call on the UK Government to immediately halt any existing consultations on hospital job cuts, such as those taking place in Cornwall, and instead require a full independent enquiry before any hospital job cuts. We believe cuts can undermine patient care and weaken essential support systems.

Hospitals are complex structures. Roles such as HR, finance, clinical administration, and other corporate functions are crucial to keeping a hospital operating smoothly. We are concerned that current methods for making decisions about job cuts in hospitals don’t consider how cutting these jobs can destabilise the systems that frontline staff depend on, from A&E to maternity. We are also concerned about the cost of redundancies which can waste millions that could be invested in improving services. We believe the current proposals to cut jobs at the Royal Cornwall Hospital threaten the future of healthcare in Cornwall, demonstrating the need to require a full and independent inquiry.”