East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) has made the “reckless” decision to outsource hundreds of cleaners, porters, housekeepers and other facilities staff, UNISON says today.
Staff, who have already taken more than 30 days of strikes against the plans and are currently in the midst of a three-week walkout, have vowed to continue fighting against today’s decision to award a new contract from April next year. The trust will not reveal the identity of the successful bidder until at least 17 December.
They warn that private contractors are driven by profit not patient care and would cut corners on cleaning, food standards and other areas of responsibility.
There is growing evidence that outsourcing and privatisation can have a negative impact on patients, says UNISON. A study published in The Lancet health journal earlier this year concluded that outsourcing “can reduce costs, but seems to do so at the expense of quality of care.”
ESNEFT says existing workers’ pay and conditions will be protected under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) regulations, but UNISON warns that these protections don’t last forever and won’t apply to new staff who will be brought in with worse pay, holiday and sick leave entitlement.
The contract affects staff at Colchester Hospital and several ESNEFT community sites who are currently in house as well as workers at Ipswich and the remaining community sites currently employed by contractor OCS.
UNISON Eastern head of health Caroline Hennessy said: “It’s incredibly disappointing to see ESNEFT make this reckless decision to sell essential cleaners, porters, caterers and other staff out of the NHS.
“Public, political and academic opinion is all turning against outsourcing because it’s worse for patients and worse for workers.
“ESNEFT still has time to do the right thing and decide to deliver all facilities services — at Colchester, Ipswich and across its community sites — in house.”
