RE the story of March 26, about the huge savings Bolton Foundation Trust has to make over the next few years.

In this article it clearly states that it isn’t clear if the current savings will lead to job losses and that the financial chiefs are confident savings can be made and equally and patients shouldn’t be alarmed.

Well, I can confirm these savings will come about through ruthless and savage cuts to staffing levels within the trust.

Very likely up to 600 jobs will be lost, with staff being downgraded.

This, in turn, will have massive effect on staffing morale and I’m sure they will be asked to take on more tasks to make up for the obvious shortfall in highly-qualified staff.

It seems strange that Mr Worthington/Mr Wakefield can gloat on Page 4 about having a surplus of £1 million when it is these very same staff who are advocating the savage job cuts.

It could be argued that if your highly-paid predecessors had done their jobs as efficiently as the lowly-paid nurses, etc, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in now.

The buck should stop with you at the top and leave the professionals to get on with the real work of caring for patients.

Furthermore, and very recently, another NHS foundation trust (Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells) has just paid £1,800 to an agency and nurse to cover one shift.

It would seem that the NHS is more sick than the patients it cares for.

I say, again, the clear-out should start at the top.

Kevin Crompton Farnworth