LIVES will be put at risk by the devastating raft of cuts being made by a healthcare giant, union bosses claim.

Southern Cross, which runs 14 care homes in Hampshire, is to slash 3,000 jobs nationwide while remaining workers see their hours cut by as much as a fifth.

The Daily Echo understands staff will be lost from care, nursing, laundry, catering and maintenance and union bosses say anyone refusing to sign the new contract will be dismissed.

A range of managers and administrators have been assured they will be saved from the cull.

The announcement prompted calls from trade unions for the Government to step in and provide financial support to the company – but the Department of Health warned this was not its problem to solve.

GMB union regional boss Adrian Baker said Hampshire, where the firm employs about 840 staff and looks after 600 pensioners, would not escape the redundancies.

He said consultation had begun and there would be protests and industrial action “was an option.”

Mr Baker said: “It is absolutely crazy. You don’t suddenly wake up one day and realise you can provide the same level of care with much less staff. The remaining staff will have to accept that the hours they are needed could be cut by a fifth at any time as part of the new terms and conditions.

“It is the start of a disaster. They are expecting staff to multi-task. We are worried about cross contamination and falling levels of care. It is a concern that people could die.”

Southern Cross said proposals to slash the workforce by nearly seven per cent were part of its programme of change launched 18 months ago.

The facilities include Chandler’s Ford Home and Moorwood Cottage, Chandler’s Ford; Hampton Lodge, Southampton; Cams Ridge, Fareham, and Woodcot Lodge, Gosport.

Union bosses blame the company’s dire financial straits on large companies who orchestrated a property deal that saw the care provider sell its buildings and lease them back.

The firm unveiled a £311m loss in the six months to March 31. The company is underpaying its rent by nearly a third until the end of September in a move to buy time to find a longer-term solution.

A Southern Cross spokesman said the plans followed the company’s staff effectiveness study announced earlier this year. “The proposed reduction in staff numbers forms part of the ongoing New Horizons programme of change, instigated by the company’s senior management team 18 months ago to improve operational effectiveness.

“A process of consultation has now begun on the potential implementation of a standard contract of employment for new and existing staff, the introduction of new roles in care, ancillary support and maintenance supervision; and the proposed reductions in staff numbers.”

It added: “The process of consultation and the proposed reduction in staff numbers will not jeopardise the continuity or quality of care provided to the company’s 31,000 residents.”