Hospital bosses say they are recruiting more nurses than ever before, after concerns were raised over staffing levels.

The James Paget University Hospital says it is piloting a new system to ensure nurses are recruited well ahead of when it knows vacancies will arise.

The reassurance comes after Bob Blizzard, former MP and Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Waveney, said he had fears that the serious pressures on health budgets was adversely affecting patient care.

The NHS has to find �20bn of efficiency savings in the coming years, as demand and costs of care are predicted to outstrip available funding.

At the Gorleston hospital this means it has had to find ways to take �8.5m out of its budget last year and the same again this year, totalling �17m so far.

Mr Blizzard said: 'It seems inevitable that cuts of this scale must affect services for patients. So I have been talking to some of the nurses at the hospital. They do not wish to be named as they are fearful of speaking out publicly, but I have been told by a number of nurses, 'Patient care is being affected'.'

Mr Blizzard said official lists show 54 unfilled vacancies, and he had been told that some staff believe this number may be higher.

He also raised concerns about staff sickness, saying understaffed wards were leading to stress and exacerbating the problem.

He is calling on the Government to scrap its reorganisation of the NHS, saying more than �15m needs to be set aside to implement the changes in this area alone.

Mr Blizzard said: 'Cuts are being forced onto hard working staff in a good hospital and patient care is now being affected.'

A spokesman for the hospital said: 'Mr Blizzard is quite right that the James Paget University Hospital has to save almost �20m by 2014. This is a challenge but we have programmes in place to achieve this.

'We are actively recruiting more nurses to the trust than ever before. When gaps appear in shifts, as they will in any trust, due to sickness or other absence, we put in place additional staff to make sure our patients are safe and getting quality care.

'We are piloting a new system which will ensure we recruit nurses well ahead of time when we know vacancies are coming up. We are also reviewing our staff mix to make sure we have the right staff in the right place to meet the increasingly complex needs of our patients.

'Staff sickness rates at the trust have historically been very good but there has been an increase in recent weeks. This coincides with the intensive focus on the hospital but we are confident this is a short-term issue.'

Earlier this month the NHS Norfolk and Waveney board heard how there had been an increase in waiting lists at hospitals in Norfolk.

The JPUH said the increase in its waiting lists – which saw a particularly large rise between August and September – was the 'result of a short-term reduction in the capacity in endoscopy to accommodate patients for their procedures and an error in the booking system for waiting lists'.