Government, Hospital Find Financial Holy Grail

The miracle of Stoke-on-Trent.

"A spokesman for the NHS trust said the hospital needed to reduce its workforce of 7,000 by the equivalent of 1,000 posts. Staff have been told about 750 compulsory redundancies may be needed."

The Department of Health said the hospital was being helped to control finances without adversely affecting patient care. In a statement it said: "We are reassured that the trust has made it clear that they plan to improve efficiency without cutting patient services and that they are consulting on any possible redundancies"

This really is fantastic news, which will doubtless bring thousands of business executives and management consultants from all over the world to Stoke, seeking to discover the secret. To be able to cut staff by 15% while still offering the same service to customers - in a labour-intensive industry - is a monumental achievement.

Or it could be a load of lies. Or, alternatively, it could be true, if the trust was grossly overstaffed and wasting public money.

But these alternatives will never be explored by the BBC, which seems to have a natural bias in favour of large tax-funded organisations. Can't imagine why.