NHS: Stop the job cuts at St Helier Hospital

Chris Newby

Despite management intimidation, an inspiring protest took place outside St Helier hospital in south London on Wednesday 27 July. 100 health workers came out in a lunchtime protest against the potential loss of over 100 posts.

These are mainly in the areas of medical secretaries, schedulers, ward clerks and receptionists. Kevin O’Brien, the Epsom/St Helier Unison union branch secretary explained that roughly 4,600 staff work for Epsom and St Helier University hospitals trusts.

Of these, 762 of them are casual staff who face the sack. He said any job loss is unacceptable.

Local staff still cannot understand how the trust has gone from a £3 million ‘surplus’ in April this year to a situation a few weeks later of announcing up to £45 million of cuts.

An executive member of the London regional council of the British Medical Association (BMA, the doctors’ organisation) explained the vital role that these staff play.

He said that these workers “humanise the process” of patients’ experiences in hospital and that they are indispensible members of a clinical team to help the patients.

Geoff Martin of London Health Emergency warned that these attacks could also involve St Helier hospital becoming a satellite hospital of St Georges in Tooting, south London, with all the job losses that that would mean.

Those present are determined to continue to fight to defend jobs and services and a further protest is planned on Wednesday 3 August at Epsom hospital.