An executive explained that positions had been affected by emerging technologies and updated operational methods
Nottingham’s main hospital complex (Photo: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
The organisation running Nottingham’s hospitals – the city’s biggest employer – will eliminate over 100 posts as the financially-troubled NHS trust attempts to reduce expenditure.
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which was recently criticised following the publication of Donna Ockenden’s examination of maternity services at Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, intends to reduce its administrative and clerical staff by approximately 130.
Beyond the care and cultural concerns exposed in senior midwife Ockenden’s critical findings, the trust has depended on tens of millions in additional financial assistance in recent years and was £80.6 million short of its financial target last year.
Danielle Petch, NUH’s chief people officer, stated that the trust’s People First Transformation Programme – an improvement initiative which determined that its inability to operate within budget was unviable – meant reduced teams would be required to achieve more.
The executive explained that through the People First Transformation Programme, priority workstreams had been identified where updated systems, processes and technology could transform service delivery. Through the updated operational methods introduced by these workstreams, including Urgent and Emergency Care and patient flow, outpatient services, operating theatres and the establishment of a customer service centre, fewer staff would be needed to provide a more efficient service. Consequently, a focused and time-limited Voluntary Redundancy programme would be offered to certain administrative and clerical employees.
The board member stated that NUH, which employs roughly 19,000 people, intended to provide alternatives to staff whose positions had been affected by the implementation of new technologies and working methods.
The trust indicated it aims to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum and may conduct another round of voluntary redundancy and Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme processes later.
Ms Petch said supporting employees and ensuring the best possible experience for patients during this period remained the priority.
NUH clarified that it hoped to reduce the requirement for compulsory redundancies through resignations, retirements, voluntary redundancy departures and redeploying staff.
Papers for the trust’s board meeting on Thursday, July 9, revealed the NHS body had already spent £6.1 million beyond its projections by May, which is only the second month of its financial year.
Staff costs being £5.4 million higher than anticipated was the primary cause of this, according to the board documents, with excessive spending on patient care and clinical supplies also playing a part.
The cash-pressed trust received over £60 million in extra government funding during the previous financial year.
In January, the Department of Health and Social Care described NUH’s financial situation as exceptional and informed the Nottingham Post that it would not accept overspending becoming the norm.
The trust is currently under examination from Health Secretary James Murray regarding the recently published Ockenden Review maternity report – the largest in NHS history – which was released on June 24 after cases involving over 2,500 deceased and injured mothers and babies treated in Nottingham were investigated.
Multiple unnamed former senior figures at NUH, including executives, were criticised by affected families after they declined to participate with the long-awaited independent report.
However, the secretary of state has now indicated he is seeking guidance on the legal means to compel these individuals to provide testimony.