Jobs and services at Wirral Council are expected to be cut to try and fill a £60m funding deficit over the next three years.

Eighty council posts could be lost in the South Hams and Devon due to a proposed overhaul of adult social services.

{mosimage}Staff and unions are currently being consulted over Devon County Council’s plans for a shake-up of its adult and community services department.

The plans, approved by the council’s executive committee, would see changes to the way adult care in the community is assessed.

David Johnstone, Devon County Council’s director for adult and community services, said any reduction in staffing will be handled sensitively, with the authority first looking to natural wastage, redeployment and retraining opportunities for displaced staff.

He said: “There may be some redundancies, but we have a very effective redeployment and retraining policy so would hope to continue to offer employment to any staff who do not opt for voluntary redundancy.”

A council consultation document sent to service staff called ‘modernising our care management system’ describes how a ‘one size fits all’ approach to everyone having face-to-face assessments has led to ‘high travelling times, delay and high carbon footprint’.

A nurse who swore repeatedly at work was sacked after she told a Wirral pensioner: “Talk to the hand, coz the face ain’t listening.”

A baby died of neglect at his mother’s squalid flat despite repeated visits by social workers. Officials called to check on nine-month- old Perrin Barlow a total of 47 times in 50 days because he was officially ‘at risk’.