WORKERS at Hinchingbrooke Hospital will learn this week whether their jobs are to be axed in a bid to save £5million in payroll costs. The payroll accounts for 70 per cent of the hospital trust s £80million-a-year budget, and the target is to save 10 per

WORKERS at Hinchingbrooke Hospital will learn this week whether their jobs are to be axed in a bid to save £5million in payroll costs.

The payroll accounts for 70 per cent of the hospital trust's £80million-a-year budget, and the target is to save 10 per cent of that, even though the trust said two weeks ago that it expected to break even in the financial year just ended.

A year ago, facing a £4million shortfall, the trust broke even by borrowing money from about-to-be-abolished Huntingdonshire Primary Care Trust, asking employees to defer claims for overtime and expenses payments and reducing reliance on contract and agency staff.

The trust's management executive will decide later today (Wednesday) where the axe should fall among the more than 2,100 workers.

"We want to make as many reductions as we can through not renewing fixed-term contracts and not using bank or agency nurses," a spokesman said.