A Shropshire MP is seeking assurances that frontline jobs are safe at the county’s two main hospitals.

David Wright has voiced fears – triggered by a Royal College of Nursing report – that posts could be cut at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital and the Royal Shrewsbury.

The report titled Frontline First, claims that nearly 27,000 nursing jobs are disappearing nationally as a result of cuts in NHS budgets, despite the Government saying it was protecting health service funding.

Mr Wright, Labour MP for Telford, has raised his concerns in a letter to Adam Cairns, chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.

The trust today said it had no planned or confirmed job cuts.

Mr Wright’s letter says: “In their report the RCN highlights examples across the country of hospitals and NHS trusts making significant redundancies among medical staff.

“The RCN also lists there being 1,445 frontline jobs under threat across the West Midlands strategic health authority area.

“Given the Government’s much-trumpeted protection of the NHS budget and protection of frontline services in the NHS, I would be grateful if you could confirm to me that no medical staff will be made redundant anywhere within the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.

“Whilst it is always the duty of public bodies to identify efficiency savings, if the policy of the current Government is having an effect on frontline personnel such as doctors, nurses, auxiliary and support staff or those who run the appointments services, it is incumbent on the trust to inform the local community in a transparent and overt way.”

Mr Wright said today that the report totally disproved the coalition Government’s claim that it was protecting frontline services.

“We are still seeing circumstances in which NHS staff are being laid off,” said Mr Wright. “I want to see a strong and vibrant health service across Telford and the rest of Shropshire.”

A spokesman for the trust, which has about 5,000 people on the payroll, said in a brief statement: “I can confirm that the trust does not have any planned or confirmed job cuts.”

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris