Nursing and other staff in NHS Direct are pressuring for industrial action over the organisation's restructuring exercise which includes the threat of compulsory redundancies. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and UNISON have submitted evidence to NHS Direct which is highly critical of its proposed actions. NHS Direct is not in deficit, but has to save £15 million from its budget.
Both unions argue that the proposals lack a solid evidence base and that there is no clear understanding as to how the service will operate in the future. They could also increase clinical risk in the service and put greater pressure on accident and emergency and other services such as GPs. The unions' evidence challenges a range of NHS Direct proposals, including:
- Reduction in staff skill mix (reducing the number of qualified nursing staff from its current 66% of front line staff down to just 50%) and less capacity for clinical auditing, training and investigation of adverse incidents. These will increase clinical risk and mean patients wait longer to speak to a qualified nurse.
- Plans for at least 573 redundancies, including nurse adviser posts in axed call centres
- The closing of 12 NHS Direct centres with a further nineteen 'under review'. This will leave some regions, including London with gaps in locally based services.
- Reducing the number of sites, and making staff at some sites redundant whilst creating vacancies at others. This could waste £5.6 million of public money.
The RCN and UNISON are calling on NHS Direct and the Government to answer the questions in the evidence document, and engage in meaningful discussion with the unions to reach a solution.
Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON said:
“This cost cutting exercise at NHS Direct could put lives at risk and staff are so angry at the prospect, unions are gearing up for industrial action.
”These proposals sacrifice quality for cost and the people who will suffer are the public in need of expert advice and reassurance. Hundreds of redundancies of staff and closure of call centres around England is not the way to make the service better. It is a recipe for disaster.
“NHSD provides an essential first call medical service relieving pressure on doctors and Accident and Emergency Departments. The service played a critical part in supporting relatives and the injured following the London bombings and it monitors food poisoning outbreaks or clusters of illnesses such as measles and whooping cough.
“Competition for local out of hours GP services has seen NHS Direct lose contracts to other providers including private companies simply on the basis of cost. We cannot stand by and let the Government_s desire to introduce marketisation into the NHS, damage this innovative world leading service.”
Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the RCN, said:
“This is a nurse led success story, admired across the world, yet, we could see it dismantled with little thought or planning. NHS Direct staff morale is at rock bottom and they feel understandably angry and let down by their employer.
“NHS Direct was created by this Government to lead NHS reforms, but it is now being asked to make cost driven changes. This is another example of inconsistency in the reform agenda with little thought for the consequences, where patients and staff will suffer. We are calling on NHS Direct to work with us to find a longer term and thought through solution that avoids compulsory redundancies and does not compromise the quality of patient care.”
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