Cambridge NHS staff speak of 'worrying' times ahead at job cuts protest
Staff have been demonstrating against the plans
A worker at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge is worried what the future holds if jobs like his are lost.
Staff who are part of the Unite union at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) have been protesting today (Wednesday) as around 500 jobs at the Trust are at risk.
The cuts would affect people in support positions who are not in direct clinical care, such as administration, clerical and maintenance roles.
A CUH spokesperson said the Trust is “taking all possible steps to minimise redundancies, through natural turnover by not recruiting to posts when staff leave, holding vacancies empty and a mutually agreed resignation scheme."
The cuts come after a mandate from NHS England earlier this year, which said that spending on support functions in NHS trusts must return to April 2022 levels.
"My role in clinical engineering is at risk and it is very worrying," Craig Jamieson, Unite lead representative at Addenbrooke's, said.
"Everybody you speak to at the hospital is very concerned and anxious about what will happen.
"Already, many of my colleagues work unpaid overtime, and stress and mental health problems are major reasons why staff go off sick; if these cuts are pushed through, I only see that getting worse."
According to CUH, the possible loss of 500 roles would equate to 4% of its 13,000 workforce, which it says has grown by 1,500 whole time staff in the past 24 months across clinical and non-clinical roles.
Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said the cuts are "a blunt tool that risks damaging patient care, quality and waiting times."
Richard Gates, regional officer at Unite, said the news would mean those who are left would "pick up this extra work at a time when they are already maxed out."
What else have CUH said?
A spokesperson for CUH said a "range of measures to support staff during this process" are in place.
“Over the past three years we have invested in additional staff, and our focus on productivity and efficiency means we delivered more than £53m of savings in the last financial year," the Trust said.
“Taking these difficult but necessary decisions will help us manage our budget in the coming year and in the long term, while continuing to meet the needs of our patients now and in the future.
"Throughout this process, we will ensure that patient safety remains our absolute priority.”