Dorset County Hospital is pressing ahead with cost-saving plans by reducing its number of beds.

Chiefs at the Dorchester hospital have indicated that £12m-worth of savings need to be made by March next year and cutting the number of beds has been named as one of the saving methods.

Today the hospital is removing 35 beds and a further three will be identified to go at a later date.

If the savings are not met, it could mean the hospital will face sanctions from its independent regulator Monitor.

A Dorset County Hospital spokesman said staff had been working together on plans to make more efficient use of beds and to reduce the amount of time patients have to stay in hospital.

The spokesman said that in recent weeks the hospital had seen unprecedented numbers of empty beds and so decided to move forward with the project.

The hospital will be reducing the bed capacity on Abbotsbury Ward by 9, on Ilchester Ward by 16 and on Ridgeway Ward by 10.

A spokesman said: “New processes are already working well to enable the hospital to run efficiently with fewer beds, so patients will not notice any difference – other than the benefit of being able to return home quicker following their operation or treatment.”

Where necessary, staff will be relocated to other wards or departments, covering vacancies and reducing the use of bank staff.

The hospital’s director of operations Patricia Miller thanked staff for their efforts to make this project a success.

She said: “Staff have been working hard to ensure a smooth flow of patients through the hospital and although we have seen a high level of emergency admissions recently, we have continued with elective surgery and minimised cancellations.

“None of this would have been possible without the determination and commitment of all the teams involved, for which we are very grateful.”

Director of finances and resources at the hospital Bill Boa, speaking at a board of directors meeting earlier this month, said the hospital was on target to make the required savings.