UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS: Hundreds could lose jobs in ‘headcount’ shake-up
University Hospitals Tees - which covers North and South Tees NHS Foundation Trusts - say patient care will remain the priority
As many as 600 NHS workers could lose their jobs in Teesside’s health trusts.
The figure for “headcount” reductions was revealed after public service union UNISON’s research estimated at least 21,000 roles would be cut across hospitals and other health facilities by 2028 as employers struggle to balance their books.
The union said efforts to meet government demands for trust budgets to break even are driving workforce reductions across hospital, community and mental health services.
Asked what plans there were to cut roles locally, a spokesperson for University Hospitals Tees – the group which covers North and South Tees NHS Foundation Trusts – said:
“We are working with NHSE (NHS England) and ICB (Integrated Care Board) colleagues to ensure that our commitment to delivering safe, quality services for our patients and communities continues. Ensuring our workforce models are optimised to reflect the health and care needs across the Tees and North Yorkshire remains our priority.
“In line with wider NHS ambitions, this will involve a reduction in whole-time equivalent posts.” Whole-time equivalent (WTE) is a calculation relating to full-time hours, whether or not they are worked by part-time or full-time employees."
Asked further how many people would lose jobs as a result, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was told: “Since 2020 University Hospitals Tees’ whole-time equivalent growth in staff has been over 2,800. We will be aiming to reduce our headcount by around 3.75%, circa 600 members of staff.”
A report to the last University Hospitals Tees board meeting said workforce had grown by about 2,500 whole-time equivalents since 2020, and about 900 WTEs were “not clearly linked to quality needs or business-case expansion and will need to be managed over the coming three years”. It also referred to a risk that the “requirement to significantly reduce WTEs may affect operational delivery and service change programmes”.
Nationally, the cuts were revealed by NHS trusts in response to UNISON’s freedom of information requests. The union warned these were in addition to job losses at NHS England and integrated care boards announced last year.
The union said its research revealed trusts were planning cuts to roles, including nurses and other clinical staff, as well as support posts, through vacancy freezes, restructuring and reduced use of agency workers. UNISON’s head of health Helga Pile said: “Cutting thousands of NHS jobs is the wrong answer when staff are already stretched to breaking point.
“The public are all too aware how understaffing is a major problem. They’ll be rightly alarmed when the situation’s getting worse.
“Years of underfunding have left many trusts out of pocket and ministers’ financial reset is creating deep uncertainty about services and staff. Morale is through the floor as workers worry whether their jobs are at risk, amid soaring levels of stress and violence.
“The NHS is being asked to transform how care is delivered, with more community services and technology, but none of this is possible without the staff to make it happen.”
Last month, commenting on analysis from the King’s Fund showing NHS trusts ran a £780m deficit last year, she said: “News that NHS finances remain in a perilous state will be a serious concern for health workers and the patients they care for. Many NHS trusts are trying to balance the books by cutting jobs or hiving off services to contractors. But such kneejerk decisions often create bigger problems for the future.
“Shedding staff and offloading services rarely saves money in the long run, puts further strain on remaining workers, and could lead to worse outcomes for patients. What’s needed is a better NHS funding settlement, alongside long overdue investment in social care.
“That way, staff can do their jobs properly and patients can have confidence the care they rely on will be there when they need it.”