NHS trust asks all staff to consider redundancy (From The Argus)

NHS trust asks all staff to consider redundancy

2:02pm Monday 24th September 2012 in News

An NHS trust has asked all its staff whether they want to apply for voluntary redundancy.

Hospital chiefs at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust, which employs around 5,000 people, have taken the drastic step of writing to all staff members asking them to consider whether they wish to apply for voluntary severance.

The trust cares for 500,000 people living in the south of west Kent and parts of north-east Sussex. It said that applications from frontline clinical staff are unlikely to be accepted.

The move is not a "cull" of staff, a spokeswoman for the trust said.

"On 11 September, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust wrote to all staff asking them to consider whether they wished to apply for voluntary severance," she said.

"No offers of severance were, or have since been, made directly to any member of staff. The trust has asked all staff to consider their personal circumstances and if they wish to make an application they have been asked to do so by 5 October, after which all submitted applications will be considered.

"The priority for the trust remains an absolute commitment to the quality of patient care and given this, it is unlikely that applications from staff who directly care for patients will be accepted.

"We would like to emphasise that there is no cull; the trust values all staff. However, the offer of a voluntary severance package may appeal to some members of staff who were considering a career change or may wish to have a break from working. It is each and every member of staff's personal choice as to whether or not they apply."