FEWER beds and operations will not affect standards of care, claim hospital bosses under pressure to save more than £18m by this time next year.

Already 105 beds have been cut between Warrington and Halton Hospitals and another 90 will go by June.

But this, along with the closure of two operating theatres and the dissolving of 104 job positions, will help balance the books without its patients suffering, says North Cheshire Hospitals Trust.

"Our financial recovery plan requires us to save £18.4m by March 2008 and we are making good progress towards this," said trust chief executive Catherine Beardshaw.

"We want to be the provider of choice for local people," Ms Beardshaw added.

"To succeed in this we need to be sure that we improve the way patients experience our services by driving efficiency, productivity and effectiveness. The experiences of successful organisations demonstrates that high quality and value for money go hand in hand."

The bed changes are a result of the merging of Warrington Hospital's new programmed investigation unit and Halton's urgent access centre.

The two theatre closures at Warrington, due to happen in April and June, will see more operations transferred to a new one in Halton.

Although 104 posts in medicine, general surgery, gynaecology and trauma and orthopaedic surgery will be lost, the trust claims staff will fill already-vacant posts elsewhere, therefore avoiding redundancies.

The trust's controversial reorganisation will see all planned operations take place at Halton and emergency surgery solely at Warrington.

Bosses hope fewer operations being cancelled or delayed and more staff alternating between both sites will save £3m and go towards the £5.2m already saved this year.