It is not a happy Christmas for 8 NHS staff who are being thrown out of their affordable homes in the new year.

The group, made up of care assistants, nursing assistants, an occupational therapist and a transport driver who have a combined total of 200 years service to the NHS, each pay £243 per month to stay at Gardener House on the West Park Hospital Site in Epsom which has provided affordable housing to NHS staff since the 1970s.

Residents living at the cluster of five houses, including one who has lived there for the last 20 years, were served an eviction notice on October 26 and have until the end of January 2012 to find alternative accommodation. In a letter to the staff, Jenny Beard, Associate Director of the Hotel Services Department at the NHS Surrey and Borders Partnership, said: "The trust is disposing of a number of buildings and sites and the capital receipt from the sale re-invested in new builds and refurbishments that better meet the needs of the people who use our services."

A decline in demand and continuing costs of subsidising employees living costs has made the 'continued use of Gardner House no longer viable' according to the trust.

One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “You are talking about low paid NHS staff.

“Most of us are divorced or dispossessed.

“People are stressed and are going to work with this at the back of their minds.

“We are not thinking straight and potentially that could have implications for patient care.

“We feel like we have been tossed aside.”

“We have been down to the council and they said basically you are all middle aged and your kids have grown up and that we are never going to get anywhere.

“We have looked at the private sector with three or four of use getting a house but that’s going to take over half our wages per month.

“This just came out of the blue."

A spokesperson for trust defended the move saying: “We are dedicated to maximising the resources available for patient care and feel that funds currently spent on subsidising our staff accommodation would be better invested in frontline services.

“That’s why we have taken the decision to close Gardener House.

“We are extremely sensitive to our tenants’ circumstances.

“We have offered residents an extended notice period and have provided extensive support to ease the transition, including signposting relevant services such as key worker housing schemes to help people make alternative arrangements.”

Future plans for the building have not yet been confirmed.