A hospital trust has awarded a private company a £15 million contract to run its non-medical services.
Sodexo Healthcare is taking over the running of catering, cleaning, maintenance, portering and laundry services at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.
The trust had previously used different contractors but decided earlier this year to appoint one organisation to take over them all.
It said the move would make better use of taxpayers’ money and increase efficiency.
The change affects more than 100 NHS workers currently employed by the trust and 524 contract staff. They will be transferred, along with their existing terms and conditions, to Sodexo on December 1.
The move will save the trust around £2.3 million a year.
Mark Turner from the GMB said: “We are seeing NHS workers being transferred to a private company and this is of concern as there is an increasing use of private companies in the NHS.
“Our members also have concerns about any organisational changes that may be made as a result of this and the impact on jobs.
“We look forward to working with Sodexo but we will be watching and will robustly protect the terms and conditions of our members.”
The five-year contract is one of the largest of its kind to be awarded by the NHS this year.
Trust chief executive Chris Adcock said: “Sodexo has a proven track record in providing the services included in this contract to a very high standard.
"The majority were already outsourced but to a number of different companies and bringing them under a single contract in this way allows us to get the best value for taxpayers’ money and to keep improving the quality of these vital services.”
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