A NUMBER of staff at Okehampton and Moretonhampstead Community Hospitals could be made redundant as they have entered a consultation process to try and standardise the support functions of catering, portering and cleaning staff.

Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust is consulting with staff on options to improve efficiency and ensure high standards while protecting front-line services at a time of tight public spending.

The number of potential redundancies caused by the consultation is yet to be set in stone.

Chief executive Jac Kelly said: 'We are confident that by engaging with staff from the beginning and listening to their career aspirations we can minimise any redundancies and offer new opportunities for staff.

'We have been filling vacancies with fixed term contracts for some months to protect the employment of those staff who have been with us for a long time.'

The total number of 'hotel services' staff posts in Okehampton and Moretonhampstead comes to nineteen. The number of staff involved and who will be consulted will probably be fewer than that, closer to fifteen.

The staff involved will have one-to-one meetings with managers and will be supported by their union representative. The consultation process will run for 60 days.

The consultation contains two main proposals. The first is the multi-skilled training of staff in all the 'hotel service' functions, including cleaning and infection control as well as portering and catering.

All hospitals will also have meals made using locally-produced food, ready for final preparation as and when needed. Okehampton Hospital already uses this catering system.

The trust conducted the same consultation with staff in the northern Devon community hospitals in 2008, and they now work to common policies and procedures.

All the hospitals that transferred to the trust in 2011 are now involved in this second phase of consultation, including those in Exeter, Honiton, Tiverton and Budleigh Salterton.

The outcome in northern Devon was that the community hospitals retained their excellent or good rating for both cleanliness and food in the annual PEAT inspections, which form a major part of assessment by the Care Quality Commission.

Staff affected by changes were offered the choice of moving to new jobs in administration or clinical areas, with very few redundancies.

These hospitals are now well supported by multi-skilled teams of hotel services staff and with meals delivered for final preparation on site.