3:30pm Thursday 2nd September 2010
SOUTHEND Hospital has admitted spending £880,000 on management consultants during a period of proposed job cuts and ward closures.
Hospital bosses have described it as “money well spent”, but demoralised staff and union representatives are furious.
The hospital has been paying for the services of Unipart for two years, while trying to save £10million in its annual costs.
Up to 400 full-time equivalent posts are under threat over the next three years, with 105 earmarked to go in the next year.
Two wards have been closed and and two others are being converted into convalescent wards rather than being used for treatment.
One nurse, who did not want to be named, said: “This is disgusting.
“While we’re working hard and worrying about our futures, the hospital is splashing out on consultants. This is going to make people feel even more worthless.”
Unison, the union representing health workers at Southend, has criticised the planned job cuts, saying they will cause standards to slip and patient care to suffer.
The hospital says it employed Unipart for external support to help reduce costs, while improving the quality of service.
Anne James, director of strategic development at the hospital, said: “The work to date has helped identify how we can make significant and sustainable changes across the whole organisation.
“Because of the changes we are making, the trust is now in a much stronger position to face the period of significant financial restraint we are entering.”
Changes include introducing more specialist wards, a programme to help patients recover more quickly from their procedures, plus a monitoring system to reduce length of stay.
She added: “The cost of our collaboration with Unipart in 2009/10 was approximately £560k – contributing to a total of around £880k in a period of almost two years.
“This investment is already proving to be money well-spent.
“We feel confident that, thanks to the significant expertise of the Unipart team, we will continue to reap the benefits in the coming years and be in a stronger position to provide healthcare services users have a right to expect.”
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