Patients put 'at risk' during Colchester strike claims union

UNISON said it had “serious concerns” in a letter to East Suffolk and North Essex Trust (ESNEFT) chief executive Nick Hulme. 

The letter claims the decision which saw staff brought in from as far as Manchester, Newcastle and Hull on rates of up to £27 an hour was “reckless”. 

The union said it was an attempt to disrupt a five-day strike by cleaners, caterers, porters and other non-clinical support staff at the hospital in Turner Road and several other ESNEFT sites over plans to outsource jobs. 

Protest - Workers at the picket line (Image: Ant Niles)

According to UNISON, the strikebreakers were support workers outsourced by the trust to OCS, a private company which runs facilities at Ipswich Hospital. 

When returning for work on Saturday, staff say to have found milk and food left out past its use-by date rather than properly disposed of, which UNISON says poses a risk to patient safety. 

In a press release, the union said: “Staff have also told the union they saw serious breaches of infection control procedures, including mixing clinical waste with regular rubbish and leaving it piled up in corridors. 

“ESNEFT told the press that all patients received at least one hot meal a day while caterers were picketing, but staff told the union this was not the case on many wards or in community hospitals.” 

Boss - ESNEFT chief executive Nick Hulme (Image: Warren Page/Pagepix)

The union’s letter also stated that senior ESNEFT managers had confirmed to the union that the trust paid for the strikebreakers to be put up in local hotels and to be transported to the sites. 

UNISON Eastern regional organiser Sam Older said: “ESNEFT’s sticking plaster solutions last month show exactly why staff are taking action. They don’t want to see the NHS pay through the nose for a worse service. 

“It’s no surprise the trust has taken such a cavalier attitude to patient safety. There’s overwhelming evidence that outsourcing leads to dirtier hospitals and higher infection rates, but trust bosses are ploughing on regardless. 

“Nick Hulme and the trust board can easily stop this disruption and protect patients, by keeping these essential NHS staff in the NHS where they belong.” 

Further strikes are planned next week unless the trust abandons its outsourcing plans, the union has confirmed. 

An ESNEFT spokesman said: "Many staff colleagues kindly volunteered to cover the roles of soft facilities management colleagues during the recent industrial action, after undergoing training to make sure we were able to provide essential cover for patients.

"Additional help was also sought from external partner organisations whose staff were also trained for the roles.

"We recognise and uphold everyone’s right to take industrial action and we are very grateful to all volunteers and employees of other organisations who put patient care first.

"Our colleagues have demonstrated kindness, compassion and care during this time."