Scotland's largest health board is cutting more than 1,200 jobs in the next 18 months.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said a "redesign" of its services means that it will be able to provide the same quality of care with fewer staff.

It anticipates cutting 1,252 full-time jobs over the next year and a half as part of its programme of modernisation of services.

About half of them are nursing and midwifery posts while other jobs to go include administrative and clerical positions.

The health board said it guarantees that there will be no compulsory redundancies and said it was confident the changes can be achieved through natural wastage.

Nursing leaders condemned the move, warning that it would put patient safety at risk, while Labour leader Iain Gray accused the SNP of ordering cuts to the health service.

Health board chiefs said they had worked with trade union staff organisations and would continue to do so to implement the changes.

An NHSGGC spokeswoman said: "Between 2009 and 2012 we will have spent £350 million on modernising our hospitals and other facilities, equipment and support services.

"This investment will create purpose-built facilities, enabling us to provide care to our patients more efficiently and more effectively.

"By redesigning our services, including a move for some services onto fewer sites, we have identified that we can provide the same high-quality care for our patients with fewer staff - 700 whole time equivalent in 2010/11 year, rising to 1,252 whole time equivalent over 18 months.

"Every year, we have a staff turnover of around 10%. For us, this means that more than 3,000 staff leave our employment every year.

"We are, therefore, confident that these changes can be achieved through natural wastage."

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland called on the health board to "urgently" reconsider the plans.

Norman Provan, its associate director of employment relations, said: "The decision announced today confirms our worst fears and, if implemented, will put patient safety at risk.

"It is simply not possible to cut this number of nursing and other posts without affecting the quality of patient care and patient safety.

"We have been warning for some time that Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board's plans are reckless and put short-term financial considerations ahead of patient need.

"These plans have not been properly thought through. The health board's workforce plans are based on short-term financial need, rather than meeting the needs of patients across Greater Glasgow and Clyde."

At First Minister`s Questions at Holyrood on Thursday, Mr Gray accused the SNP Government of making cuts to health services.

The Labour leader said union officials had met bosses at Greater Glasgow health board this morning and added: "They were presented with this plan, a plan to cut over 1,200 jobs out of Glasgow`s NHS this year. Over half are nurses and midwives."

He added that Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon "isn`t letting these cuts happen, she is demanding them of the health board".

He demanded: "Is this what the First Minister calls protecting our NHS?"

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "NHS spending in Scotland this year is higher in real terms than it was in previous years, despite the £500million of cuts."

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