NHS Surplus Figures – UNISON Reaction

Commenting on the forecasted £983m surplus in the NHS announced today, Mike Jackson, Senior National Officer for UNISON, the UK’s largest health union, said:

ÒUndoubtedly the NHS is in a stronger financial position, but the

under-spend of almost a billion pounds has led to a lot of unnecessaryheartache. Staff had a below-inflation pay award staged, more than 20,000 jobs have been lost and in some areas services and training has been reduced.

ÒNow that there is a new team at the Department of Health we look forward to a fresh start. More solid financial oversight of NHS trusts needs to happen; and savings should be ploughed back into frontline patient care and valuing staff with decent pay awards, instead of endless and empty reforms.Ó

ends