Plans to cut around 500 jobs across Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) could damage patient care, warns UNISON as a voluntary severance scheme opens today.
The trust, which runs the Addenbrooke’s and Rosie hospitals in Cambridge, has been told to slash support staff numbers by 15%.
Government ministers have said they’re telling NHS trusts to reduce numbers to cut “bureaucracy.” But UNISON warns that the support staff targeted play an essential role in helping clinicians deliver patient care.
The Cambridge trust has opened a ‘mutually agreed resignation scheme’ today, a form of voluntary severance, enabling employees to leave their employment in return for a payout. But the amount of money paid out is less than staff would receive under a traditional redundancy scheme, says UNISON.
The news comes as health workers belonging to UNISON gather for their annual health conference in Liverpool opening today.
UNISON Eastern regional organiser Rad Kerrigan said: “This is the last thing staff need. Support workers at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie are doing everything they can to ensure patients get the best care possible.
“If all these jobs go, when nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals aren’t getting the support they need, they’ll have to fill the gaps themselves, taking them away from front-line tasks.
“These cuts will make it harder for overstretched clinical workers to do their jobs. The NHS needs real investment in its workforce, not a cull of key staff.”
