Concern grows over proposed Southern Trust reform | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Concern grows over proposed Southern Trust reform

Daisy Hill is one of the hospitals within the Southern Trust area

Concerns over Southern Trust jobs have grown this week as union members staged a number of protests at hospitals. The protests were a response to the announcement that the Trust must make cuts to the value of £11 million over the next financial year.

Nurses were amongst staff supporting the one hour protests, which were supported by Unison, Unite, and the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance. A leading Unison member, who claims to have seen documents outlining the Trust’s plans, has suggested that 157 jobs could be lost, “The plans mean that a total of 157 jobs could be cut in the Southern Trust area. It would mean a £0.5 million reduction in staff, which would also affect domiciliary care,” he said.

NIPSA member, Brian Smyth, also responded to the news, “The pressure on staff is starting to take hold and the reality is that workers are facing a 14 per cent cut (in pay) when you take into consideration inflation.”

A spokesperson for the Trust responded to concerns, saying the Trust were “currently working in partnership with the Local Commissioning Group to develop a local Population Plan in response to Transforming Your Care”, which is a widespread review of the Healthcare and Social Care in Northern Ireland.

The spokesperson continued, “The population plan which will set out proposals for service reform for the next three to five year period will be drafted by June 2012. This plan will focus on modernising and improving the quality of health and social care services within the resources available and will be subject to approval. In the interim, specific proposals for 2012/13 have been submitted to the HSCB (Health and Social Care Board) and are awaiting approval.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=10360

Posted by on Apr 6 2012. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Leave a Reply







Find us on Facebook

Log in | Designed by Gabfire themes