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Hospital job cuts may harm patient care - union

Martin Heath
BBC News, Essex
Stuart Woodward/BBC A red block two-storey building with glass facade, made up of windows with black frames. There is a portico above the entrance with the words Colchester Hospital in white letters on a blue background. Trees are reflected in the windows and the sky has dark clouds.Stuart Woodward/BBC
Staff at Colchester Hospital and others are being invited to offer to resign

A search for voluntary resignations at a health trust's hospitals "could harm patient care", a union has warned.

Staff at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Colchester, Ipswich and some community hospitals, have been invited to apply as part of a government drive to cut down on back-office tasks.

Unison also claimed the payout for staff who opted to resign would be less than they would get under an ordinary redundancy scheme.

The trust said the scheme would "achieve significant savings" and was not open to clinical staff.

Health trusts across the country have been asked to reduce bureaucracy as part of the government's efforts to slim down administration in the NHS.

The biggest change will be the abolition of NHS England, but hospitals are being asked to do their bit.

ESNEFT said it was "offering staff in administrative and clerical roles the opportunity to apply to leave the trust under a mutually agreed resignation scheme".

"The trust is launching the scheme, along with a recruitment freeze on posts in administrative, clerical and corporate functions, to achieve significant savings during the current financial year," it said.

However, Unison said the "targeted staff play a key role in helping clinicians deliver patient care".

It added that the payout on offer to staff was "less than they would receive under a regular redundancy scheme".

An Ipswich Hospital sign in black writing on a white background. A blue band at the bottom has "Heath Road Entrance" in black writing. There are cars parked behind the sign, which is set into a hedge. There are trees in the car park. A large concrete building of around a dozen stories is beyond the car park.
Ipswich Hospital is part of the scheme, along with several smaller ESNEFT establishments

The union's Colchester and Ipswich area health branch secretary Natasha Hunt, a nurse at the trust, said: "This is bad news for staff and patients. Anyone working in the NHS knows the vital contribution made every day by administrative employees.

"Without the support of administrators - nurses, doctors and other overstretched healthcare professionals will be forced to spend more time on clerical tasks and less time caring for patients.

"The NHS needs real investment in its workforce, not destructive staff cuts."

Nikki Fox/BBC Nick Hulme with very short grey hair and glasses. He is smiling at the camera wearing a dark jacket, pale blue shirt and blue tie. There is a multicoloured flag emblem on his left shoulder. He is standing in an office with pictures on the wall and a large wooden desk on which a monitor is sitting.Nikki Fox/BBC
ESNEFT's chief executive, Nick Hulme, said he would "make sure our services remain safe" during the severance process

ESNEFT's chief executive Nick Hulme said: "Taking these steps will help us to achieve the savings we need to make while protecting our frontline services and retaining staff who wish to remain in employment.

"I'd like to offer my reassurance that while we go through this process, we will make sure our services remain safe. People in our communities will continue to get the care, treatment and support they need, when they need it."

The trust said it would not undertake any more savings schemes in this financial year.

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