EIGHT senior managers at East Lancashire's hospitals will have to re-apply for jobs as part of a cost-saving plan unveiled by the new chief executive.

Jo Cubbon has outlined proposals to re-shape her management team, including former acting chief executive Richard Gildert, to help clear a £4.5million debt.

And the Trust has admitted there is no guarantee exisiting staff will keep their jobs.

Details of the proposed shake-up - due to be implemented within the next six months - have been revealed in a memo sent out to the Trust's 7,000-strong staff.

Once appointed, the senior managers will begin the job of re-structuring their own departments to improve efficiency.

Today unions said it was too early to assess the long term threat to jobs but urged staff to take part in the consultation process and make their feelings about the reoganisation known.

Under the plan, a six-strong executive team answering to the chief executive will remain at the helm of hospitals in Blackburn, Burnley, Rawtenstall and Nelson.

But five of the existing posts - all bar the medical director - are being replaced, along with three less senior, divisional director posts

And a spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "It is not necessarily the case that existing directors will immediatley get the new jobs.

"The portfolios of the new jobs are quite different from the existing executive roles."

Mrs Cubbon, who took over the Trust last month, hopes the new plan will make it less likely that departments within the Trust will begin overspending again.

Since the Trust was created in 2003 from the old Blackburn and Burnley hospital trusts, debt has gone from £1million to £5.5million by the end of last year.

That debt has since been slashed to £4.5million. Recruitment freezes and bed cuts failed to deliver the large savings hoped for because of high demand over the winter months.

In the staff memo, Mrs Cubbon said the streamlining of the corporate offices would 'reduce overheads and avoid duplication.'

Following her appointment last month, Mrs Cubbon said she wanted to create an accountable Trust as quickly as possible.

Her memo to staff added: "Our success will not be achieved by focusing on structural changes alone.

"I will be concentrating on how our Trust is managed. Our staff will judge us on by what they see, hear and experience.

"I recognise that changes in these areas may well have implications for staff within the existing management structure and I know this may be an anxious time for some."

A spokesman for Unison said: "We are urging to staff to have their say on the proposals so that management know exactly what staff on the ground feel is necessary."

A spokesman for the Royal College of Nursing also urged people to get involved with the consultation.