Job losses on cards amid Birmingham NHS trust restructuring
The trust cares for more than 2.2 million patients each year, at the four hospitals it runs: Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green, the Queen Elizabeth in Edgbaston, Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull Hospital.The losses will come out of 26,000 staff employed across the trust.Mr Brotherton said that engaging staff in the process was key.After asking them for their ideas on how to save the money, they now have 90% of the savings they need to make (£115m), but he said it had not been an easy process."It is going to difficult but it is everywhere. We have to accept it and get on with it.""[We] have engaged thousands of people in helping to identify and generate the ideas and the savings."That isn't just about saving money, it's actually about improving services to patients as well," he added. "Sometimes it's just about being more productive, sometimes it's about changing the way we work with technology, sometimes it's about reconfiguring the way that services are delivered."
The announcement comes after an analysis of NHS finances seen exclusively by the BBC revealed some trusts feared they may not be able to pay staff wages.
A reliance on temporary staffing had been reduced at the Birmingham trust, added Mr Brotherton, with vacancy levels at their lowest ever. "That's across qualified nursing, doctors, therapists, a whole range of different posts," he added, meaning he could deliver "the same for less". The chief executive, who started working in the ambulance service as a paramedic dealing with patients said he still carried "those core values and experiences through to the decisions that I make today". The Department of Health and Social Care said ministers were determined to tackle inefficiencies and drive-up productivity in the health service, and the emphasis should be on cutting bureaucracy, to invest in front line care.
NHS: Painful Decisions will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 18 May at 13:30 and available to listen afterwards on BBC Sounds.
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The Guardian
10 minutes ago
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an hour ago
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2 hours ago
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Development can't be 'wished into existence' Across Scotland's cities are examples of architecture so grand, so downright spectacular, that nobody (unless they were, say, a member of the Saudi royal family) could fund their construction today. To build something comparable – in terms of materials and sheer craftsmanship – to the Woolmanhill hospital, today, would be prohibitively expensive. This being so, it's doubly sad to see the place slowly fall apart. Windows are smashed and boarded up on the derelict property. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson. Of course, reality doesn't care about the desire to see the building brought to life. If there is no viable project, then one cannot simply be wished into existence. But nor should the building remain abandoned and unloved, left to decay. If developers cannot find a solution then the government should step in. There have been calls for the place to be turned into a medical museum which certainly makes a certain kind sense. Where better to display the marvels of medicine, to tell the stories of pioneers in the field, than a grand hospital building. But, realistically, would such a museum prove to be such a smash that it justified the spending of tens of millions in its development? I have my doubts. Perhaps the answer to the question of what to do with Woolmanhill is rather less glamorous and exciting than a swanky resort. Perhaps it – and other empty buildings – hold part of the solution to our ongoing housing crisis. Is there a creative partnership to be struck between public and private sectors to bring Woolmanhill back to life? Could housing be the answer for derelict Woolmanhill Hospital? With young people priced out of the housing market in the city and across Aberdeenshire, pressure on existing housing association stock is reaching intolerable levels. 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