MORE than 60,000 frontline jobs in the NHS, including those of nurses, are at risk of being axed because of spending cuts, with almost half already gone, according to stark figures in a study.

The Royal College of Nursing said community nurses, which include those in Wiltshire, were among those who could be affected, which meant that government plans to move care from acute hospitals to community sites were a ‘façade’.

The RCN said 61,000 posts were at risk of being slashed across the health service , including nursing and other jobs, with 26,000 already lost in the two years to April.

Community services, which covers district and mental health nurses and those who visit patients in their own homes, were being ‘overburdened’, said the RCN.

Fewer than one in 10 of 2,600 community nurses polled by the RCN said that they had enough time to meet the needs of their patients, while nine out of 10 revealed that their caseload had increased in the past year.

Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the RCN, said: “Yet again, and despite numerous warnings, NHS organisations are making short-sighted cuts across the UK.

“Nurses are being stretched too thin, and many are approaching breaking point. Inevitably, patient care is going to suffer.

“We are now seeing a clear and worrying picture of a health service which is struggling.

“It is struggling to keep people out of hospital because of pressures on the community, and it is struggling to discharge them with support when they leave.

“Very soon, patients will be left with nowhere to turn.”