Proposed job cuts at Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust
Its as the trust looks to make savings of nearly £50m
Last updated 8th Oct 2025
Around 150 administrative jobs could be cut at The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust as bosses try to address a financial shortfall.
The Trust said it was consulting staff on changes to their clinical administration services and its share of a £110m system cost improvement programme for 2025-26 meant the organisation needed to deliver savings of £49.3m.
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust oversees the provision of service at The Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro as well as St Michael's Hospital in Hayle and West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance.
It said the proposals identify the potential to reduce the number of whole-time equivalent administration posts from just over 600 to around 450 but that its priority was to find roles elsewhere for staff affected.
The Trust added that it was actively engaging with trade union representatives throughout the consultation.
In a statement The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust said: "The proposals aim to offer better structured and more rewarding roles, improved career pathways and importantly to free up time for clinicians and ensure our patients benefit from a consistently high level of administrative support throughout their care pathways.
“Many of our clinical administration teams and those they support have expressed frustration with current systems and duplication in their work, and inconsistency in the way we provide support in different parts of our organisation. The go-live next year of our electronic patient record, along with rapidly advancing technology in many areas, gives us an exciting opportunity to look very differently at our clinical administration services and roles.
“The proposals are a significant change to the way we work, and we recognise for many it is an anxious time. We are encouraging everyone to share their views and ideas throughout the consultation period, so that we can shape the final proposals together. Our priority will be to find opportunities through vacancies across RCHT and our NHS partners, to retain skilled and experienced colleagues wherever possible.
“We are supporting colleagues throughout the consultation period, offering many ways to provide feedback and influence the final proposals, as well as providing practical and emotional support through face-to-face service, online programmes and our staff networks.”
The UNISON Cornwall Acute Health branch secretary Stephen Timms has called the proposed job cuts "deeply worrying for both staff and patients."
He said: "Cutting a quarter of all administrative roles could have serious consequences for patient safety and care.
“The trust’s own risk assessment acknowledges referrals could be missed and that follow-up care may suffer. Services are already under huge strain.
"This proposal feels rushed and short-sighted."
Mr Timms added: "Healthcare in Cornwall faces unique pressures, with an ageing local population, intense winter demand and a surge in visitors over the summer.
"Cornwall’s health system needs additional investment, not fewer staff.
“The trust says it will try to redeploy affected workers, but with a recruitment freeze in place and no vacancies across local NHS or council services, it’s hard to see how that’s possible. Staff are anxious about their futures, and rightly so."
"The trust must work with unions to find a safer, fairer way forward that protects jobs and maintains the quality of care patients deserve.”
UNISON said it will continue to call for a rethink and challenge the plans.