Responding to the NHS Providers survey showing 37% of hospital trust leaders said their organisation is cutting clinical posts due to financial pressures, Prof Phil Banfield, chair of BMA council, said:

"It is deeply concerning to hear that so many trusts are still thinking about cutting services, given the state of the NHS today. Patients up and down the country will be wondering how this can be possible when they see hospitals already buckling under the pressure of understaffing, A&E patients lining corridors, waiting lists that seem endless and clinical staff eternally on the verge of burnout. To be in that situation and then to cut the number of doctors will seem absurd to most people. We are already hugely under-doctored amongst comparable countries.

“What we need is for Government to get a grip of a currently fragmented health system. There needs to be an honesty with the public about the scale of the financial challenge of restoring our NHS and the costs of reorganising services, which must be driven by the clinical need of patients, not managerial expediency.

“If they truly want to meet their targets of cutting waiting lists rather than extending them, Government will need to ensure their NHS plans boost the numbers of doctors, and create - not cut - capacity."

Notes to editors

The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.