A list of 20 hospitals in the south west of England have indicated that their staff might have to deal with pay cut, a reduction in annual leave and even increased working time without extra pay.

The South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium (SWC) says that the health service has been asked to deliver £20bn in savings over the next four years. The SWC employs 68,000 NHS workers ot about 7 per cent of the total workforce in the area.

A total of 20 hospitals have suggested several options to reduce the expenditure on wages, which accounts for 65 per cent of the total expenditure. The NHS units estimate that a pay cut of 1 per cent would save £1.4 million, adding another hour to contracted 37.5-hour working week without extra pay will result in £2.6 million in gain and reducing annual leave by two days will help in saving £750,000 annually.

The SWC believes that the burden of spending on wages must be reduced because some units will pay rise by more than £ 3 million a year from 2014. It says that the hospitals will have to accept such measures in order to safeguard the jobs of 6,000 workers.