Hospital bosses were today being urged to give assurances a plan to recover a multi-million pound deficit will not affect patients.

East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust has set out how it plans to claw back a forecast overspend this year of £5.2 million.

The trust, which runs Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH) and Conquest Hospital in Hastings, has already made savings of more than £2 million.

Officials are now looking to make further savings next year, which has led to a 38-point recovery plan being drawn up.

The cost-cutting plan includes shedding some management and administration jobs, a review of agency nursing and a review of how it buys medical supplies.

From next year, the trust will employ temporary staff from NHS professionals to reduce the cost of hiring agency nurses.

They plan to employ more nursing staff from the Philippines in the new year as well as continuing to recruit newly-qualified nurses.

The trust was formed last year following the merger of trusts in Eastbourne and Hastings. Bosses believe they will gain more discounts when buying medical supplies as a larger organisation.

A trust spokesman said some of the savings outlined in the recovery plan would take effect next year but patient services were safe.

However, Eastbourne Tory MP Nigel Waterson has written to its chief executive, Annette Sergeant, for clarification on aspects of the plan.

He has asked how plans to make cuts sit with the trust's assurance patient services will remain unaffected.

Mr Waterson wants to know whether the proposed cuts will affect patient operations, treatments or drugs prescriptions.

He has already demanded to know where the money to plug the deficit will come from, in a Commons exchange with health minister John Hutton.

Mr Waterson believes the Government should meet the shortfall, saying despite increases in resources at the trust there has been at least an equal increase in pressures.

He added: "I'm very keen to ensure that patient care will not suffer as a result of what appears to be a very substantial deficit."

Pressures on the trust were highlighted earlier this week.

We revealed on Monday that 15 Eastbourne DGH patients will travel to northern France in January for hip or knee operations, with the help of Government cash.

All of them will have exceeded a 12-month wait for their operations by March next year.