More than 100 jobs at a hospital have been slashed as part of an £8 million savings drive.

But Worthing Hospital remains £6 million in the red despite a range of cost-cutting measures including asking patients to bring in their own drugs.

Last April, the hospital trust announced it was spending £1 million a month more than it could afford.

A year on, the hospital's chief executive, Stephen Cass, said the trust was on track to wipe out the deficit by the end of next year.

He said: "Staff have worked really hard to continue to provide excellent patient care whilst having to look for financial savings which will bring the trust back into balance.

"As we move towards public consultation on the future shape of health care in West Sussex, I believe our achievements demonstrate that we are a credible, well-run organisation which has a positive future in providing high-level healthcare to future generations."

The trust has cut three per cent of its 3,500 staff in the past year through not replacing those who have left.

Uncertainty about the hospital's future and job losses has led some nurses to complain that morale is at rock bottom.

MP Tim Loughton said he was concerned that job losses and department closures would result in a "death by a thousand blows".

The hospital could lose its A&E unit as part of a shake-up of departments in Sussex.

Mr Loughton, the Tory MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, said: "My fear is this plays into the hands of the Primary Care Trust reconfiguration which is trying to downgrade the hospital by stealth.

"The hospital is one of the most cost-efficient in the country and is doing a very good job.

"But the staff are caught between a rock and a hard place because the Government has got its sums wrong and if they don't meet Government targets they are penalised.

"We need to make sure that this does not have an impact on long-term quality and variety of services provided at the hospital."

Patients have been bringing in their own drugs to the hospital for the past six to seven months after a request from medical staff.

A spokeswoman for the hospital trust said: "When the ambulance arrives at a house the chances are the patient is already on medication.

"They are asked to bring their own drugs into hospital with them.

"Whereas before we wouldn't have bothered bringing it in, now we ask them to bring their prescribed drugs with them.

"As vacancies have arisen we've looked at how things can be done differently which involved not replacing the staff member.

"Our priority is and has always been to maintain the quality of care for patients."

The milder winter has also allowed the trust to save £220,000 in utility bills.

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