130 Royal Bolton Hospital jobs to go

11:57am Friday 12th January 2007

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UP TO 130 more jobs could be axed at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

NHS chiefs have announced plans to privatise some medical services.

It means many initial tests in ear, nose and throat, urology, gynaecology, general surgery and orthopaedics will not be carried out at the hospital.

The majority of outpatients normally sent to these departments through GP referrals will now be sent to new clinics. It is the loss of this work that will lead to the job losses, hospital chiefs say.

They say up to 130 medical staff could find themselves out of work.

With the loss of the GP referrals, £3.7million is being axed from the hosplital's budget.

The privatisation plans were announced by NHS North-west, the former Strategic Health Authority.

It says the move - due to be introduced by the end of the year - will reduce waiting times for patients and help them achieve Government targets.

But the news of the job losses, which comes just days after it was revealed the the hospital was to benefit from a £12 million boost to its services, was greeted with dismay by both hospital staff and management.

David Fillingham, chief executive of the Royal Bolton Hospital, said: "This will have an impact on our budget and if we're losing outpatient work we might have to downsize departments and get rid of equipment. That could mean we lose staff.

"My two biggest concerns are getting the care right for patients and jobs for staff.

"I find it confusing that we've been chosen as a centre of excellence for women's and children's care, but then a large slice of this work - gynaecology and ENT - will be taken off us."

Ninety per cent of GP referrals in those specialities will be moved.

The new clinics will be called Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services centres.

John Murphy, chairman of Staff Side, the organisation which represents hospital employees, said: "We are appalled.

"We're questioning the legality of the process, whereby the Trust, isn't allowed to compete for patient provision and we're seeking advice from our solicitor. We'll take any action necessary."

Bolton's political leaders are also concerned, with chairman of the council's health scrutiny committee, Cllr Andy Morgan, calling an emergency meeting of the committee.

Cllr Morgan said: "The hospital should be allowed to compete on a level playing field."

Bolton South-east MP Dr Brian Iddon said: "I'm not happy with this proposal, partly because it involves the private sector, and especially because it might damage the sustainability of local NHS services."

Family doctors are also worried the move could put patients off seeking medical treatment because of the inconvenience of travelling to the new clinics.

Just where the new clinics will be, and how they will be staffed, has yet to be decided.

Dr James from the Spring House surgery on Chorley Old Road, said: "It's very worrying. It's all very well bringing waiting lists down, but not at the expense of a decent broad spectrum hospital."

Unison, the biggest staff union at the Royal Bolton Hospital, have vowed to do all they can to ensure the hospital does not lose out.

Chris Parkes, regional organiser for Unison, said: "All of us, including hospital managers, staff, patients, are in one mind - that there should be competition, and that it should be fair. This isn't."

Last summer hospital bosses announced 130 jobs - 80 of them nursing staff - would have to be lost to make £6 million worth of savings.

But they stressed none of them would be compulsory redundancies.

The new job cuts would be in addition to those.

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