CATERING at two Essex hospitals could be outsourced to an external company. Basildon Hospital and Broomfield Hospital, near Chelmsford, could outsource the department across the sites after similar jobs were outsourced at Southend Hospital reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
The trust which runs Basildon, Southend and Broomfield Hospitals, says the next step is to see what comes back in any financial talks but no decisions have yet been made. The department is made up of 300 roles which would be protected under the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations (TUPE), with employment automatically transferring to the new employer on existing terms and conditions, maintaining continuity of employment.
It comes after the trust was rated 123rd out of 134 trusts in the first of the Labour Government’s new NHS league tables. Then there was serious criticisms by the Care Quality Commission relating to children’s services. Inspections were carried out in response to potential specific incidents and ongoing concerns over the safety of children and young people receiving care.The hospital bosses say they “acted quickly to make significant improvements following the CQC visit back in November last year.”
Commenting on the catering jobs, Dawn Scrafield, Chief Finance Officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have been outsourcing our patient and retail catering at Southend Hospital for many years and are now reviewing our other sites to standardise our catering offer. Data shows we spend more money on catering than similar trusts and our patient satisfaction is variable.
“We have a duty to spend taxpayers’ money responsibly, while making sure we provide good quality food and choice to our patients, staff and visitors. No decisions have been made yet and we have been speaking with our union colleagues to ensure they are being kept up to date.”
The hospital trust also says a lot of the catering equipment is coming to the end of its life and will need investment to replace it. It says working with an external firm is one way of making sure it has reliable, effective equipment to meet the catering needs of our patients and visitors.
