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By Annette Kinsella, Coventry Evening Telegraph
HOSPITAL bosses have promised that doctors and nurses will not be axed as part of the cost-cutting measures at Walsgrave Hospital.
At a meeting with union bosses yesterday, chiefs at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwick-shire said they "did not foresee" any redundancies in front-line staff .
But the assurance did not extend to management or clerical staff, who were not considered to be "front-line".
Phil Siddle, spokesman for public sector union Unison, said he was hopeful that the trust would make an effort to consult staff fully before decisions were made on redundancies.
He said: "They said they did not foresee any redundancies in front-line services.
"We asked for confirmation as to what front-line services were and they said managers and corporate services were not front-line services.
"I am quite reassured they genuinely do not wish to lose staff, but I am still not happy with the way it has been handled.
"I am hopeful they will do better in the future."
Mr Siddle said the union had asked to see a copy of a new consultation document, set to be given to the trust board next week.
Union bosses asked for the meeting after they were given official notifi-cation last month of up to 99 redundancies.
The redundancies could be among staff at three hospitals under the University Hospitals Trust - Walsgrave, Coventry and Warwickshire, and Rugby St Cross.
The news came after bosses confirmed they were fighting to avoid being in debt to the tune of £7.8 million next April.
