| Weston HospitalUNISON has welcomed the new that Weston General Hospital has been saved from privatisation. The decision by Weston Area Health Trust in Weston-super-Mare to opt for an ‘NHS only’ future is another significant success for the union’s anti-privatisation campaign in the NHS. UNISON members working at Weston General Hospital are over the moon today at the news that the hospital has decided to stop its search for a private partner, and instead look at merging with another local NHS Trust or be taken over by a local NHS Foundation Trust. North Somerset UNISON spokesperson Helen Thornton said: “We think this is a triumph for common sense, as well as the huge opposition locally to a private company running our local hospital. Since the procurement process started just over a year and a half ago, members of North Somerset UNISON along with members of the local campaign group Protect Our NHS have campaigned against Weston Hospital being run by a private company, because we believe that NHS services should be run by the NHS and not by private companies who put profit before people.” UNISON has been working closely with community groups and staff at the hospital engaging over the campaign to stop the threat of privatisation, the group has taken to the streets of Weston-Super-Mare collecting signatures from the public. Helen Thornton said: “Staff at Weston General Hospital have been working with this cloud hanging over them for almost two years. The uncertainty over who would run the hospital has also negatively impacted on the recruitment of new staff. As a result we are pleased that the hospital’s Chief Executive has given credit to staff who have worked so hard, and under such difficult circumstances to deliver major improvements at the hospital. In our view this also demonstrates that the NHS doesn’t need private sector involvement to improve.” Christina Cook, UNISON Regional Organiser said: “We are relieved that the employer has seen sense and pulled back from its privatisation plans, just last week the Chief Executive for NHS England, Simon Stevens said that there needed to be new models of care built around moving away from centralised hospitals and towards local services, I will be making contact with the CEO because UNISON continues to be a stakeholder in Weston Area Health Trust’s future of the NHS and to ensure our members are fully involved” The process going forward will see a shortlist of bidders by July 2014 with a preferred NHS partner selected by October 2014 and the formal process of either a merger or takeover completed by April 2015. Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said: “It is great news that health chiefs have come to their senses and scrapped plans to privatise the Weston general Hospital and instead seek a partner within the NHS. “The last two years have created a lot of uncertainties and anxieties but this decision means that staff can continue focusing on delivering high quality patient care rather than worrying about whether they are going to be ‘outsourced’. “UNISON’s vocal campaign on the ground argued throughout the process for an NHS solution rather than handing over patient services to unaccountable private operators.” - See more at: http://union-news.co.uk/2014/06/win-unions-campaigners-save-hospital-privatisation/#sthash.SoIa1gCh.dpuf |