UNISON said yesterday that it was truly shocked by the scale of job losses and call centre closures announced by NHS Direct, warning that it is a disastrous move for patients and staff.
This came as NHS Direct announced that twenty-four out of thirty call centres will close, and 50 per cent of its nursing staff and other health workers will lose their jobs.
Unison said in a statement: ‘Given that many of these NHS call centres are in areas of high unemployment, there are very real fears for the staff’s future job prospects.
‘The government spending millions on making nurses and NHS professionals redundant at a time when the NHS is under great strain is truly scandalous.’
Sandra Maxwell, Unison Convenor at NHS Direct, said: ‘Hundreds of dedicated nursing and NHS professionals are to be made redundant at a huge cost, when their skills could be used within the new NHS111 service if only the Department of Health took some decisive action.’
Michael Walker, Unison National Officer for NHS Direct, said: ‘The Secretary of State for Health should step in and stop this disaster immediately, we need action and we need it now.
‘Axing dedicated hard-working nurses is never a good idea at any time, but this will directly impact on patient care.
‘There is no doubt that patients will suffer as a result of this move.
‘Unison is committed to working with management to minimise job loses and closures.’
Unison added: ‘Half of NHS Direct’s 1,500 frontline nursing & NHS professional staff are to be axed.
‘Twenty-four out of thirty NHS Direct call centres will close including large centres in Bristol, Sheffield, Wakefield, Nottingham, Hull, Stafford, Chelmsford and Newcastle.’
l New health service ombudsman Julie Mellor has reported an increase in complaints about the care private providers are offering to NHS patients.
Her report says: ‘We expect to receive more complaints about independent providers as more healthcare organisations enter the market and provide care funded by the NHS.
‘This has proved the case in 2011-12. We received 272 complaints about independent providers in 2011-12, a 61 per cent increase on the number we received the previous year.
‘Some of these providers will be large organisations entering the market for the first time. Some will be new ventures. Others will be charities or other third-sector organisations.’
