St George's Hospital staff are still in the dark over the full extent of plans to axe up to 150 jobs, three months after the shock announcement was made.

Union bosses were expecting clarification today or within the next week over how many jobs would be axed and what positions would go.

But St George's Healthcare NHS Trust told the Wandsworth Borough News it had no plans to make any announcement in the near future.

A trust spokesman said: "We are not making any announcement. We are looking at reducing the actual amount of redundancies.

"We are working with staff, unions and stakeholders on various consultations on planning our workforce efficiently."

Unison health branch secretary Geoff Thorne, who had been expecting clarification, said everyone wanted the matter to be cleared up.

He said it would then be up to the union to decide what action to take, if any, although strike action was unlikely because of concerns over the effect on patient care.

He said: "If you are caring for people, you cannot just walk away.

"It will be down to the membership of the union to decide. One option is work to rule - not working to your contract."

St George's Hospital took the decision to axe jobs to reduce its £12million deficit, on top of the £10million it has been told to save this year.

In October last year the trust - which also manages Bollingbroke Hospital - announced bed cuts and 300 job losses which largely resulted in vacant posts remaining unfulfilled.

Among those likely to be affected in the latest round of cuts are staff who have worked at Tooting's St George's Hospital for 20 years.

Mr Thorne said: "We keep pressing them. I went to a meeting last week and they were still unable to give us everything.

"The majority of those affected are admin and clerical staff at the moment, which does not make any difference, because they are still people's jobs."