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Press Release

Question mark over future of NHS services for the old and young in Bedfordshire

9 July 2009

NHS services for children and older people in Bedfordshire face being hived off into a 'social enterprise', Unite, the largest union in the country, has warned.

Plans to be outlined to staff on Wednesday, 15 July could see 1,100 staff - and services for more than 100,000 children and 420,000 older people - coming under the 'social enterprise' banner, which is one-step removed from the NHS.

Chief Operating Officer of Bedfordshire Community Health Services (BCHS), Andrew Harrington, in his letter to staff, admits: 'Social enterprises are businesses. They need to make a profit to compete in the market.'

Mr Harrington also concedes that staff have expressed 'a strong desire' to maintain what is best within the existing BCHS and 'strong support to retain NHS values and brand'.

Unite's Lead Officer for Health in the Eastern of England Region, Owen Granfield said:

'There is a large question mark over social enterprises which are part of the giant experiment in an expensive untested system of funding healthcare that must be stopped.
The people of Bedfordshire need to know what is being done to the NHS in their name.'

Unite is strongly opposed to the marketisation of the NHS, as it puts private profit before patient care; undermines the ethos of the NHS as a unitary service; and is detrimental to staff and their employment conditions, as social enterprises have to compete commercially for NHS contracts.

Owen Granfield said: 'Unite is asking Mr Harrington why he is pushing ahead with these dogma-driven proposals, when his own staff appears to have expressed a strong attachment to the NHS and its values – as have the general public in repeated opinion polls.'

'Staff prefer to stay as employees within the NHS, rather than see the fragmentation and privatisation of core NHS services. They do not feel that profit should be the driver in a caring relationship.'

'We also want to know why staff are being misled about their pensions – should existing staff no longer be employed by this social enterprise, the final value of their pension could be compromised. And new staff would not be eligible to join the NHS pension scheme.'

Unite is urging the public to protest when NHS Befordshire meets to discuss the 'expression of interest' from BCHS – the first stage in creating a social enterprise, which could include services for children and young people; 'end of life'; long term conditions; and rehab and support.

• Those interested in joining the campaign please contact Owen Granfield, Unite's Luton office; 10 Cardiff Road, Luton, Bedfordshire LU1 1PP, tel: 01582 726 122; fax: 01582 454 320



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