by René Lavanchy
Managers at a National Health Service trust have dismissed as “absolute nonsense” claims by the Unite union that they are trying to privatise its community health division into a social enterprise without consulting staff.
The board of Medway NHS in Kent resolved last month to consult staff on plans by the management team to convert Medway Community Healthcare into a social enterprise running outside the structure of the NHS in England. Such a move would remove the trust’s 1,350 staff, including school nurses and speech and language therapists, from NHS contracts and the pension scheme.
But Unite officials say that staff have not been asked for their views – a claim the trust denies.
Sarah Carpenter, Unite’s regional officer for health, said: “They’re supposed to engage in local consultation and they don’t appear to have done that. They’ve got the decision and are going around telling people they’ve done that.”
The union is worried that the service, described as a “£55 million business” in the management’s business plan, could end up in the hands of a profit making multinational. Ms Carpenter said: “This contract is only for three years. They could be bought by anybody: you, me, Sainsbury’s, Boots.”
They also point to a recent speech by Health Secretary Andy Burnham saying that NHS trusts should only be taken over by private providers if they were failing. Medway NHS this week celebrated a survey showing a public satisfaction rating of 79 per cent.
Marion Dinwoodie, chief executive of NHS Medway, said this week: “A form of social enterprise, which involves strong links with the community, looks like it is best suited to deliver the high quality care that we want for people in Medway.
She said that the plans meant “carrying out a planned formal consultation with staff”, adding: “It is absolute nonsense to suggest that Medway Community Healthcare is trying to make itself into a social enterprise without consulting its staff properly.” Ms Dinwoodie added that unions had been invited to a meeting to discuss the proposals and that all had accepted except Unite.
Unite has organised a public demonstration for next week over the proposals.
About The Author
