NINETEEN specialist posts at Derby's hospitals are being axed in a bid to save cash.

Among the posts lost will be nurses, midwives and the equivalent of 13 staff trainers.

Any staff affected would be offered alternative posts on similar salaries, said deputy director of nursing Cathy Bratt.

This would be possible because other senior nursing posts were left vacant when previous staff members left.

The hospitals have the equivalent of 31 full-time posts for nurses who organise staff training.

But Mrs Bratt said 13 of these posts would be scrapped because a lot of training was now done online.

However, Royal College of Nursing representative for Derby's hospitals Michael Hayworth said the cut was "too severe".

He said: "This is a very lean model at a time when there are huge changes happening within the NHS, patients' problems are becoming increasingly complex and the number of national standards of care which nurses need to meet has increased."

Mr Hayworth was more understanding about the loss of six specialist nurses and midwives because, he said, the hospitals had not been given any extra cash to pay for the roles.

Mrs Bratt said that, while the six specialists had added "quality" to patient care, they were not essential to keeping patients healthy and safe. Mr Hayworth agreed.

The Derby Telegraph has learned that one of the posts is the midwife specialising in the care of diabetic women.

Mrs Bratt confirmed this but said she would not identify the other five posts, saying it was unfair on the staff involved.

She said: "This has been a review of nurses who don't deliver frontline care on wards or in clinics on a day-to-day basis."

Mrs Bratt said the cuts were part of an ongoing jobs review which would actually result in an increase in the number of frontline nurses. But she could not say how many.

There would also be a reduction in unqualified nurses – or healthcare assistants – who would not be replaced when they leave, she said.

The Derby Telegraph reported last week that Derby's hospitals had been ordered by a national watchdog to improve their plans to save £21 million in the new financial year from April.

Savings from the loss of the nursing posts will go towards this year's cost-saving target of £22.7 million, not next year's target.