THE NHS budget is set to be slashed by more than £530m over the next five years as part of a major shake-up of how services are run.

There are fears it could result in major cuts in services and potential job losses in the county.

The savings were set out in the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) for Sussex and East Surrey, which aims to get health and social care organisations working closely together to “provide the care people want within the resources available".

There is no guarantee NHS Improvement will accept the plan and further changes may have to be made.

Those behind it say working better together will bring many benefits and help them develop services to help them tackle some of the problems they face.

Demand for services is increasing because people are living longer and the local population is increasing.

At the same time, the wider economic climate means money is tighter than ever so changes need to be made.

There are no specific details about how the savings will be made but there is no current suggestion that accident and emergency departments or any other acute hospital services in the county are under threat.

Instead the aim is to provide more services at a community level.

The NHS is already struggling to cope with demand and balance their books, with Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust both currently in financial special measures.

In the short term, extra bed capacity is being offered to both trusts to help them cope with demand this winter.

A major problem is the difficulty in discharging patients from hospital into community beds or providing support for them at home, which leads to bed-blocking and increased pressures in other areas.

However Gary Palmer from the GMB union said: “Whatever way you look at it, this is not good news. We should be investing more, not cutting back.

“There is no way services already pushed to the edge can sustain any further savings and I fear for patients and for staff.”

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare chief executive, Michael Wilson, who is heading up the project, said it was vital organisations worked more closely together.

He said: “We’ve got lots of different things like minor injuries units, walk-in centres and urgent treatment centres.

“They’re all opening and different times and all offering different things and what we need to do is standardise these things so that they are close to people’s home rather than people thinking the only place they can come to is a busy hospital A&E department.”

NHS Improvement is expected to publish its response to the STP early next year and more specific details about how the changes will impact on patients will emerge.