More than 200 health staff are to lose their jobs in far north Queensland.

The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Board is the latest regional service to announce heavy job cuts after the Queensland Government ordered costs be reduced across the state, and the Commonwealth adjusted its funding projections.

Chairman Bob Norman says up to 190 permanent staff will be made redundant and 44 temporary positions will be axed.

"They'll go out of administrative roles and more people will be on the frontline," he said.

He says the job losses are largely due to a federal funding shortfall of $6.5 million.

"It's substantially as a result of the Commonwealth cuts," he said.

"I am quick to tell you, though, that there will be no facilities closing and we will not see an adverse impact on the clinical frontline services.

"By that I mean the people that deliver babies and put bandages on people."

Unions are currently in talks with local health executives.

Together Union senior vice-president Dr Sandy Donald says the Cairns Base Hospital struggled to cope on the weekend and cannot afford any cuts.

"We know that the bed situation was absolutely desperate - just couldn't put patients in an appropriate place," he said.

"But if that's where we are before the cuts - I think everyone would be very worried about how much worse it will get."

Meanwhile, the Cape York Hospital and Health Service has invited its staff to apply for voluntary redundancies

Chief executive officer Susan Turner says an internal review has been completed and consultants have recommended a reduction in 'non-frontline' staff.

The service has not said how many staff were likely to go but Ms Turner says a "sudden cut" in federal funding equates to the loss of about seven full-time positions.

She says redundancies may be approved if departments can be restructured so "core services" do not suffer.