Thousands of NHS staff at Trusts across England are to lose their jobs as deficit-hit employers struggle to balance their books, new research by UNISON has found. At least 21,000 roles are due to be cut by 2028 in hospitals and other health facilities, according to a major data-gathering exercise by the union.
A separate UNISON workforce survey of almost 20,000 NHS staff shows they are already feeling the pressure of financial strains. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of NHS staff say job cuts have led to an increase in their workload, while the same number (65%) report rising stress levels.
Almost half of staff (47%) report that systems and processes are slower following job cuts or vacancy freezes, while a worrying 42% say patients are receiving a worse service.
UNISON says the NHS is already hugely understaffed and needs to expand its workforce to meet rising demand, not cut it.
Less Fit for the Future
The union’s new report, Less Fit for the Future, shows NHS providers ran up a combined deficit of more than £1.1bn last year. It warns that efforts to meet the government’s demand for Trust budgets to break even from this year are driving widespread workforce reductions across hospital, community and mental health services.
The fresh wave of NHS posts being axed – revealed by Trusts in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests – are in addition to major job losses at NHS England and Integrated Care Boards announced last year, says UNISON.
The union’s research reveals Trusts are planning cuts to at least 3,600 clinical roles including many nurses and other clinical staff, as well as support post reductions through vacancy freezes, restructuring and reduced use of agency workers. Many have not specified where the axe will fall.
At the same time, huge financial pressures are being felt at Trusts, with some revealing they will be unable to balance their books by 2028 and could require additional government support. Despite this, the government recently introduced financial penalties for Trusts that failed to break even – a situation the union says could make matters worse. Furthermore, UNISON believes the true scale of workforce reductions is likely to be significantly higher, as not all Trusts were able to provide full workforce data in response to the FOI requests.
The union warns of a ‘doom loop’, with increased workloads leading to burnout, sickness and even more staff leaving overstretched services, so the pattern continues.
UNISON is calling on the government to review the impact of break-even financial rules on staffing and services, and ensure NHS organisations are supported to expand their workforces to meet demand, rather than trim them.
UNISON head of health Helga Pile says: “Cutting thousands of NHS jobs is the wrong answer when staff are already stretched to breaking point.
“The public are all too aware how understaffing is a major problem, so they’ll be rightly alarmed when the situation’s getting worse.
“Years of underfunding have left many Trusts out of pocket and ministers’ financial reset is creating deep uncertainty about services and staff.
“Morale is through the floor as workers worry whether their jobs are at risk, amid soaring levels of stress and violence.
“The NHS is being asked to transform how care is delivered, with more community services and technology. But none of this is possible without the staff to make it happen.”
