Shropshire health organisations launch voluntary redundancy scheme as they look to save £20m

Health chiefs in Shropshire have asked staff if they will consider applying for voluntary redundancy.

Those who express an interest in leaving the county's acute hospitals or NHS community services before the deadline of November 10 are expected to know the outcome of their applications before Christmas.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Community and Hospitals NHS Group, which manages both The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (Shropcom), previously confirmed it will be looking to cut £20 million from its spending on staff and cut up to 400 posts.

Chiefs say they want to “minimise” compulsory redundancies and have other ways to deliver the savings in workforce costs.

Jo Williams, group chief executive of the group, said: “We need to reduce our workforce costs to secure a sustainable future for our services and protect the care we provide, but we will not make reductions at the expense of safe patient care.

"We are therefore looking first at voluntary redundancy and other ways of reducing costs to minimise compulsory redundancies.

“We know this will be an unsettling time for all our colleagues, and we are committed to managing these changes openly, fairly and with compassion. We value every colleague and the contribution they make, and we will do all we can to support people through the changes.”

The group was formed from combining the boards of SaTH and Shropcom. The organisations hope to save £20m by cutting up to 400 posts. Together they employ 10,000 people.

But bosses have said compulsory redundancies “will always be a last resort”. Around 60 people leave the organisations every month and chiefs intend to reduce spending on bank and agency workers.

And employees could also be redeployed as the group invests £29m in services as it recruits to roles "essential to providing safe, patient care”.

Health leaders want to achieve £44.3m “efficiencies” this year and so far have found £16.6m. They say this is more than ever before at this point in the financial year.

The group delivered £47m in efficiencies in 2025/26, more than double 2023/24 when £23.3m was delivered. It was more than four times as much as 2022/23 when £9.8m was delivered.

SaTH’s financial deficit reached £100m in 2023/24 but this was reduced to £45.1m in 2025/26. The trust, which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital, has an agreed deficit plan with NHS England to reach financial balance by 2029/2030.