1000 NHS staff from Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust will transfer to a new limited liability partnership this Sunday.
Nurses, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists at GWH received letters on 9 March confirming their employer would change to “Wiltshire Health and Care LLP”. Affected staff work in wards and in the community across Wiltshire.
The new organisation will be a limited liability partnership with three NHS Trusts as corporate partners: Great Western Hospitals in Swindon, Royal United Hospitals in Bath, and Salisbury Foundation Trust.
Wiltshire Health and Care LLP has existed since 2016 but will only now directly employ many NHS staff.
UNISON organiser in Wiltshire Simon Newell said:
“Wiltshire Health and Care LLP is the latest in a string of companies set up by NHS Trusts to take staff out of direct employment. That’s not what workers signed up for and it’s not what the public expect. Health staff should be part of one NHS, not put into lots of different firms.
“We’re disappointed GWH, RUH, and Salisbury have taken this step. It’s not clear what the Trusts hope to achieve. It’s positive the Trusts say staff will keep their NHS pay and conditions, but in future they will be easier to change once staff are not directly employed by the NHS.
“The last inspection of Wiltshire Health and Care LLP by the CQC said their management needed to improve. That “requires improvement” judgement was only in October 2017. It’s surprising the three Trusts are ramping up its management responsibilities so soon after that with 1000 new staff members.”
- Read the October 2017 CQC inspection
- According to the TUPE letter sent to transferring staff, existing staff and new starters will keep “Agenda for Change” NHS national terms and conditions.
- UNISON has asked for but not yet been provided with a precise list of transferring staff
