Nearly 150 jobs to go at Cambridge University Hospitals amid NHS spending cuts

Nearly 150 staff at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are expected to be made redundant following government spending cuts.

The union UNISON says the non-clinical staff under threat play a “vital role in the smooth running” of the trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals.

The staff affected are understood to include administrators, booking co-ordinators, project managers, clinical educators, operations managers and communications officers.

The Cambridge Independent reported in April how up to 500 non-clinical staff were due to go at the trust after it was asked to reduce its spending to April 2022 levels. This equated to about four per cent of its 13,000-strong workforce, which has grown by about 1,500 whole-time equivalents across clinical and non-clinical roles in the past 24 months.

To minimise compulsory redundancies, the trust has not replaced staff who have left and offered a “mutually agreed resignation” and voluntary redundancy schemes. Hundreds have already left.

But now shortly after the Labour government unveiled its 10-Year Plan for the NHS, it has emerged that about 150 support staff will go.

UNISON Eastern head of health Caroline Hennessy said: “The government’s 10-Year Plan is make or break for the NHS. But delivering improved care and using better technology relies on administrators, comms officers, operations managers and many other expert staff now anxiously awaiting their P45s.

“Even without ambitious plans for the future, these jobs are needed to keep the trust running. Frontline staff rely on support workers to deliver care.

“The NHS needs real investment, not savage cuts, to meet the challenges ahead.”

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.

“We are taking all possible steps to minimise redundancies, through redeployment, natural turnover and a mutually agreed resignation scheme. These steps are helping to reduce the number of redundancies required.

“We recognise that this is a challenging and uncertain time for staff and have multiple support services in place. During this process we will continue to consult with trade unions on ways to avoid or reduce redundancies.”

Under the 10-Year Plan, the government aims to shift more care from hospitals to neighbourhood health hubs and refocus on prevention. About 50 new neighbourhood health centres are expected by the end of this Parliament. with up to 300 in place by 2035.

Better use of technology, including the NHS app, is also part of the plan, while hospitals will be expected to make more use of robot-assisted surgeries.

NHS England, the headquarters of the NHS, is being combined with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), reducing central headcount by 50 per cent. And Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will be the strategic commissioners of local healthcare services, while commissioning support units will be closed.

But Unison warns that local trusts like CUH are losing the staff who would help deliver the changes.