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Workers protest hundreds of job cuts at Cambridge University Hospitals




Workers at Cambridge University Hospitals are today (Wednesday, 4 June) demonstrating against hundreds of job cuts at the trust.

More than 500 jobs in ‘support functions’ are at risk, with porters, estate workers, plumbers and engineers and those in administrative and clerical roles up for redundancy.

Cambridge University Hospitals trust employees protest over job cuts in support roles
Cambridge University Hospitals trust employees protest over job cuts in support roles

The majority of the at risk roles are based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Craig Jamieson, Unite lead representative at Addenbrooke’s, said: “My role in clinical engineering is at risk and it is very worrying. Everybody you speak to at the hospital is very concerned and anxious about what will happen.

“Already, many of my colleagues work unpaid overtime, and stress and mental health problems are major reasons why staff go off sick. If these cuts are pushed through, I only see that getting worse.”

The cuts come after a mandate from NHS England earlier this year, which said that spending on support functions in NHS trusts must return to April 2022 levels.

Unite is concerned about the blunt approach that means these cost savings should be concluded before November, regardless of their impact.

It says similar cuts to integrated care systems were found recently to have not had an adequate impact assessment.

The Unite Cambridge medical branch will stage a demonstration against the cuts outside Addenbrooke’s today.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These huge cuts across NHS trusts in Cambridgeshire are a blunt tool that risks damaging patient care, quality and waiting times.

“Unite stands firmly against these cuts. The members demonstrating have our full support.”

Staff at Addenbrooke’s are concerned that losing these support roles will leave already-stretched workers having to take on more day to day as well as impacting patient care as those in clinical services will have more of their time taken up by doing administrative and clerical tasks.

The union points to the expected 18 per cent growth in the local population by 2041 - and warns that cuts of nearly five per cent of the workforce, as well as reductions in overtime, do not appear to be logical.

Unite regional officer Richard Gates said: “These cuts go completely against the grain of the government’s commitment to invest in the NHS.

“Not only is it devastating news for those who will potentially lose their jobs, but also for those left who will no doubt be expected to pick up this extra work, at a time when they are already maxed out.

“Unite will fight these cuts every step of the way. This demonstration is only the beginning.”

A CUH spokesperson said: “Like all NHS Trusts, we have been asked to reduce the cost of our support functions this year to April 2022 levels.

“For CUH, which has a total workforce of 13,000 staff, this means a reduction of around 500 posts not delivering direct clinical care (including admin and clerical roles.)

“We are taking all possible steps to minimise redundancies, through natural turnover by not recruiting to posts when staff leave, holding vacancies empty and a mutually agreed resignation scheme.

“We appreciate it is a worrying and uncertain time for many colleagues working in the NHS, and we have put in place a range of measures to support staff during this process.

“Over the past three years we have invested in additional staff, and our focus on productivity and efficiency means we delivered more than £53m of savings in the last financial year.

“Taking these difficult but necessary decisions will help us manage our budget in the coming year and in the long term, while continuing to meet the needs of our patients now and in the future. Throughout this process, we will ensure that patient safety remains our absolute priority.”




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