Opposition Leader John Robertson said yesterday new hospital budget documents showed that more than 80 per cent of jobs being cut this financial year would be frontline positions.

Mr Robertson said the documents showed that 739 of the 902 jobs to be cut would come directly from local health districts.

He estimated 41 jobs would be cut from the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Local Health District.

Chairman of the district board Denis King said yesterday savings would be made without the job losses.

"The district has been asked to cut its budget by an amount that is equivalent to 41 employees," Professor King said.

"We employ something like 6800 people. What we are proposing is that somewhere in that, by looking at the way we use our staff, we might be able to make the necessary savings and we do not intend to terminate anyone's employment."

Local health districts are responsible for nurses, clinicians, radiographers, emergency department clerks, nursing unit managers, cleaners, porters and catering staff.

Mr Robertson said the cuts would come despite Health Minister Jillian Skinner's assurances only bureaucrats would be sacked under her $3 billion of cuts.

"Sacking 739 hospital staff this year alone will directly impact on the level of care people receive in NSW hospitals," Mr Robertson said.

The government was forcing the districts to cut $72.6 million in wages, he said.

"These figures prove the overwhelming majority of the O'Farrell government's health job cuts are coming from frontline positions in NSW hospitals."

A NSW Health spokeswoman disputed the claim the government's labour-expense cap would lead to widespread job losses, saying the savings could include forcing staff to take leave and axing locum and overtime pay.

"Any decisions by local health districts to offer redundancies, as part of achieving employee savings will not apply to frontline nursing staff," the spokeswoman said.

"Savings cannot be equated to positions lost, as they include smarter ways of working and lessening the reliance on contractors and locums and other unnecessary expensive labour costs."

The Health Services Union's newly elected NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said the proposed cuts were "outrageous" when hospitals were already understaffed.

He said the union would not rule out widespread protest action, which could range from work bans to stop-work meetings and strikes.

"We want to highlight that 50 per cent of health workers are not doctors and nurses but they keep the hospital running," he said.