Strike action threat over NHS Direct cuts

Unison and the Royal College of Nursing are warning they may consider strike action after a consultation into staff cuts at NHS Direct is complete.

NHS Direct launched a three-month consultation in May 2006 on proposals to cut capacity due to the service picking up fewer GP Out of Hours contracts than it had expected. The telephone service is intending to close 12 call centres and shed up to 1,000 jobs because of overestimated capacity.

The RCN and Unison say they have submitted evidence to the consultation that shows there is little proof for the need for cuts and that morale is at an all-time low.

The general secretary of trade union Unison, Dave Prentice, said: "These proposals sacrifice quality for cost and the people who will suffer are the public in need of expert advice and reassurance.

"Hundreds of redundancies of staff and closure of call centres around England is not the way to make the service better. It is a recipe for disaster."

Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the RCN, said: "This is a nurse-led success story, admired across the world, yet we could see it dismantled with little thought of planning."

Dr Malone added: "NHS Direct was created by this government to lead NHS reforms, but it is now being asked to make cost-driven changes."

Unison and the RCN will look at the possibility of strike action when the consultation is complete, they say.

A statement issued by NHS Direct said: "We are currently consulting with our staff on a series of proposals which are designed to make us more effective and efficient."

"They will help us maintain our excellent reputation for clinical safety and improve public access to health by signposting people to the right NHS service more quickly."

NHS Direct says that they are looking to centralise support functions, namely finance, ICT, HR and communications, and bring larger groups of staff together on a smaller number of sites. Some call centres will be expanded, but locations including York, Brighton, Kensington and Croydon will be shut down.

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