East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust seems determined to outsource nonclinical support services at Colchester Hospital, 12 years after boasting of the Colchester trust’s success at bringing them back in-house.
But why they have chosen to do so, and why they have not considered any other options remains a mystery, since the Trust has conducted all of its discussions behind closed doors in private sessions of the Trust Board, and is refusing to publish the outline business case, claiming this is because of ‘commercial confidentiality’.
The jobs of almost 300 NHS cleaners, catering and other support staff at Colchester are at stake. They were baffled to be told that a private meeting of the board had decided to “outsource” (privatise) their work.
Management at Colchester had previously raised no concerns with staff representatives, published no negative reports on the quality of services, and made no effort to engage with staff or their unions. The trust is one of few with no financial problems, and so no need to slash spending to balance the books.
Full article in The Lowdown, 3 June 2024
