WE'LL fight cuts. That is the message from health workers' union, Unison, which is today demanding face-to-face talks with hospital bosses.

It comes after yesterday's announcement that nearly 400 jobs are to go and two hospital wards will close as health chiefs struggle to save £15m.

Amanda Weldon, vice-secretary for the Southampton Health branch, told the Daily Echo: "We are disgusted at these job cuts because there has been no negotiation or consultation.

"The motivation behind this is the trust's drive for foundation status, nothing else. We are demanding talks and communication links are already in place."

Union bosses are also unhappy with the way the two-page notice detailing the 380 posts to be axed was passed out. They have slammed the "crude and heavy-handed" methods of making the cuts.

Kelvin Aubrey, Unison's regional officer, told the Daily Echo that Southampton General Hospital had already been thrown into chaos following the decision this week to stop using non-clinical agency staff.

"Portering staff are short of nine people either through vacancies or other reasons," he said. "Saying to them they can't cover that with agency staff, it's hard to see how that's sensible."

"And to say the trust will only take on a maximum ten staff a week is a crude way to deal with this. If the eleventh staff member to be employed in a week is a new chief executive, does that mean he or she does not get the job?"

Health bosses insist they are not planning large-scale redundancies and hope to cut the jobs through "natural wastage" and reducing staff intake.

Department bosses are meeting with trust directors about how the cuts will be implemented. Each of them has to come up with a detailed plan by August 16. It is part of Southampton University Hospital Trust's plan to save £15m in 12 months. Last week the trust dropped a star in the national ratings because it was £5m in the red. Acting chief executive Andrew Liles admitted it would slow down the trust's bid to become a foundation NHS trust.

Hospital spokesman Marilyn Kay said the impact on patient care would be minimal. She added "We are organising open meetings for hospital workers to talk about the cuts."