- Conference
- 2024 National Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 6 December 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference believes that when trade unions hear the word “insourcing”, we traditionally assume this means outsourced services being brought into the NHS or wider public sector.
However, Conference notes that in today’s NHS increasingly the term is taking on a different meaning, at least in the eyes of some of those running the system.
This version of “insourcing” involves a private operator being brought in to provide work on NHS premises, as a way of seeking to get extra patients treated.
Conference notes that versions of this approach have already come to light in England, Cymru/Wales and Northern Ireland.
Conference understands the desire on behalf of the NHS to bring down waiting lists and to ensure that patients receive the most timely care possible.
However, Conference remains resolutely of the opinion that ever-escalating waiting lists are not the fault of the NHS itself, but of years of government underfunding. Conference notes that the 2010s were the most austere decade in the 75-year history of the NHS.
Furthermore, Conference notes that so far very little is known about the companies involved in running these “insourcing” operations or their employment models. Despite often using or sharing resources for NHS staff, such as accommodation and staff spaces, governance structures and beneficial interests of these operations are often blurred at best.
Conference is concerned to make sure that staff pay, terms and conditions are not adversely affected by the use of any such models – as well as protecting the quality and safety of patient care.
Conference therefore calls on the Health Service Group Executive to:
1. reiterate UNISON’s opposition to the inappropriate use of the private sector in delivering services to NHS patients;
2. establish how widespread “insourcing” is across the UK, by seeking information from the union’s English regions and UNISON Scotland, Cymru/Wales and Northern Ireland;
3. work with research organisations, such as the NHS Support Federation, to examine the companies involved; and
4. investigate the potential impact on staff pay, terms and conditions of this model and any wider implications for the Agenda for Change pay system.