Sussex Partnership NHS trust sets out £14.2m savings
A mental health NHS trust has set out plans to save £14.2m in the next financial year.
Sussex Partnership NHS said it had adopted a business plan that would see services improve in what would be a tough economic climate.
Managers said they could find savings without making compulsory redundancies. Staff are being redeployed and vacancies carefully managed, they said.
The public services union, Unison, said it was in talks with the trust.
Peter Atkinson, the Unison branch secretary of the Sussex Partnership, said: "Saving £14m is the most ambitious savings target we have ever been presented with."
The trust has not yet provided figures for the number of jobs at risk.
In a statement, the trust said: "We have successfully managed to avoid compulsory redundancies by ensuring that our staff take up redeployment opportunities within our services and by carefully managing our vacancies.
"This remains our priority and we are working closely with our trades union representatives to make sure that everyone who wants a job with Sussex Partnership gets one."
Acting chief executive Sue Morris said: "We are under no illusion that we are entering a very challenging financial and business climate. But far from seeing this negatively, we see it as an opportunity.
"Setting ourselves challenging targets will help us to reap rewards for clinical outcomes and quality."
The trust's key priorities included focusing on patient safety, reducing risk and improving people's experience of its services, she added.