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Job cuts look likely as NHS faces final year of real growth before spending freeze

The NHS is set to face a round of job losses as organisations confront the difficult economic situation.

Although ringfenced from the brutal public spending cuts expected in other public services, the NHS has been warned to expect zero growth in funding over the next six years.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital, recently invited staff to apply for a voluntary severance scheme. The BMJ also understands that several London trusts will launch voluntary redundancy or severance programmes over the next few months.

Speaking at a financial seminar in London last week, Chris Ham, chief executive of the healthcare think tank the King’s Fund, said that although the NHS would be relatively protected it would still need to make up to £20bn (€24bn; $30bn) in efficiency cuts. “In large hospitals 70% of spending is on pay, …