A MERSEYSIDE hospital trust has pledged to work with staff on cost-cutting decisions, after consultants passed a vote of no confidence in their chief executive.

Around 200 senior doctors at Wirral Hospitals Trust, which runs Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge hospitals, organised the ballot after a string of controversial decisions, including turning Clatterbridge into a day-case hospital only and the proposed merging of services like vascular surgery with Countess of Chester.

The first motion, which was agreed by a majority of doctors, said they had lost confidence in the trust’s chief executive, Len Richards.

They also agreed a motion expressing concern over the management’s understanding of clinical needs at the hospital. A third criticised the changes proposed for vascular surgery.

Last night, a nursing union warned that morale among staff was “almost at rock bottom”.

A joint statement on behalf of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the British Medical Association and the hospital’s medical board said: “Following feedback received from the consultant body, the trust's board of directors is working together with the medical board to identify how best to achieve a positive resolution to the concerns expressed.

“We have a joint commitment to ensuring that this organisation can continue to focus upon providing excellent sustainable patient care and as such are encouraged by the constructive discussions held to date.

“We are confident that we will reach a resolution that is in the best interests of the trust and the patients it serves.”