Sheffield and South Yorkshire Save Our NHS
You could not make this up. Rotherham NHS Trust has entered itself to be Nursing Times’s ‘employer of the year’, claiming it has a “joy in work approach to nurse recruitment and retention”. Yet it is evicting over 76 residents, including many nurses, all NHS staff, from three onsite accommodation blocks.
One tenant said: “Many have chosen to bring their careers here. Personally, I applied to do my training in Rotherham because of this accommodation”.
Severe shortage
This clearly shows how having accommodation helps with staff recruitment and retention, providing a constant source of new staff to Rotherham Hospital. Many come from abroad, and then commit themselves to working in South Yorkshire.
The hospital has severe staff shortages, highlighted with over a ten-hour waiting time to see an A&E doctor in August. Many staff work extra-long and double shifts, and there’s constant use of bank staff.
Tenants, staff, and local campaigners have organised a protest – Thursday 7 November, 11.30am to 1.30pm, outside the main entrance of Rotherham Hospital.
The Trust says that it will “mothball” the accommodation. The Trust cites a fire safety report, but admits there are no immediate fire or health and safety dangers.
The Trust says it can’t afford the repairs, but has not released any cost figures for the work. The Trust admits that the accommodation blocks are not losing it money.
So why the unseemly haste to evict doctors, nurses, and other NHS staff, many from overseas, from their homes? Are they rushing to evict the tenants before ‘no-fault evictions’ legislation would outlaw such rogue landlord behaviour?
Over 1,000 people have signed our petitions showing how unpopular and out of touch the Trust is. People want to support the NHS by keeping and retaining NHS staff, not adding to its destruction.
- This protest is supported by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Sheffield and South Yorkshire Save Our NHS campaign, the Rotherham Hospital Action Group of tenants, Sheffield Tenants Union, Sheffield Socialist Party, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and Taiba Yasseem – Independent councillor for Boston Castle ward, covering the hospital.
