Cumbria NHS Wastes Money
Tuesday 8th February
2011
GMB ACCUSES NORTH
CUMBRIA UNIVERSITY
HOSPITAL(NCUH) NHT TRUST OF WASTING MONEY
ON AGENCY ANDOTHER STAFF
The Trust pays three times more on average to non
employees who form by far the minority of staff at the Trust and
NCUH paid £6.5 million to agency staff in the past
year
GMB, Cumbria's biggest trade union, is accusing North Cumbria
University Hospital NHS Trust of unnecessarily wasting money on
agency and other staff. This charge arises after a detailed study
by GMB of spending on agency and other staff which are itemised in
the Trust pay bill supplied after the union asked for details.
GMB accuses North Cumbria University Hospitals (NCUH) NHS Trust
of favouring agency and highly paid staff over lower income
workers. GMB consider that NCUH's approach is to undermine the NHS'
National Agenda for Change (AfC) which was resourced by the last
Labour Government to evaluate jobs and harmonise terms and
conditions across the sector.
NCUH has an historic debt of £21 million. The Trust is seeking
savings to this extent by April of this year to make the Trust
viable to apply for Foundation Trust status. The Trust has a Cost
Improvement Programme involving a series of Departmental Reviews
currently taking place and a number jobs are at risk.
Kevin Young GMB Regional Organiser at NCUH said: "I
recently requested the NCUH NHS Trust pay bill for salaried and non
salaried employees. From the information provided I have found that
the Trust pays three times more on average to non AfC employees who
form by far the minority of staff at the Trust. In addition NCUH
paid in the last year £6.5 million to agency staff.
NCUH are attacking the terms and conditions of hard
working employees and favouring agency and other workers who are
not part of the Trust's main workforce.
The GMB believes that NCUH are hiding behind spurious
and bogus management jargon in justifying their high pay bill for a
small group of people.
This GMB study of the pay bill shows that the NHS is
feeding frenzy for senior NHS Mangers and those employed from
outside of the mainstream of the NHS and that they are not
accountable for this.
Governance arrangements at NCUH need to be drastically
improved so that high rollers are not protecting themselves at the
expense of relatively lower paid staff."
End
Contact :Kevin Young Organiser 07870 176747 or 01228521657 or
Chris Jukes 07850 606137 or GMB Press Office Steve Pryle 07921
289880 or Rose Conroy 07974 251 823