Royal Cornwall Hospitals trust is going to cut off nearly 300 jobs after it put to use a governments idea of a funding formula that incurred huge losses. Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust is facing a mammoth cash crisis, that is amounting to debts of £8.1 million which might force it to close wards and operating theatres in addition to cutting jobs.
Market Forces Factor (MFF) has perhaps caused this downslide, because it works on the logic that it costs much less to remunerate the staff from rural areas. NHS staff is compensated with wages that follow the national wage scale and the difference caused the trust a huge financial strain, leading to debts.Matthew Taylor, Liberal Democrat MP for Truro and St Austell, had indicated earlier about the need for an audit. In his words, 'Local wage levels are about 25 per cent below the national average. But health staff are paid on national pay scales, so the hospital does not cost any less to run.'The hospital would be getting over £10m extra without the funding formula, there would be no debt, and these cuts would not be happening.'
Brian Milstead, Chief Executive of the Trust that employs nearly 5,000 people, said that the jobs cots would revolve around management and administration roles. He said: 'We have seen huge improvements in services, particularly around cancer and cardiac, but we can't make the scale of savings we need to make without it affecting staff spending.We have to tackle infrastructure inefficiencies, but it is being done to protect patient care and give us a sound platform for the future.”
Unison, which stands for the rights of 1,500 workers at the hospital, has reiterated that it would not take this lying down and would put up a fight to salvage jobs.
