17.03.14
‘Fired and rehired’ NHS staff figures double
The government has come under criticism after health minister Dr Dan PoulterMP admitted that between May 2010 and November 2013, 3,950 NHS staff who were made redundant have since been hired back.
In response to a parliamentary question from Labour’s Julie Hilling, MP for Bolton West, Poulter said: “The number of NHS staff estimated to have been made redundant since May 2010 and subsequently, up until November 2013, re-employed by an NHS organisation on (a) a permanent basis is 2,570 and (b) a fixed term contract basis is 1,380.
“By reducing managers and administrators by over 21,100, we are freeing up extra resources for patient care – £5.5bn in this Parliament and £1.5bn every year thereafter.”
The estimates were derived from “unvalidated” figures from the NHS’s electronic staff record. However, the number of NHS staff whohave been made redundant and later re-employed almost doubled last year, according to the data.
Overall, more than 10,000 full-time workers have been made redundant from the NHS in England since the restructuring of the service.
In a response to the announcement, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham stated that it will be “galling” for nurses who’ve just had a pay cut to see the government is handing out “cheques like confetti” to people who have been rehired.
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