- Conference
- 2007 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 29 December 2006
- Decision
- Carried
This Conference notes that many UNISON members employed by Primary Care Trusts are currently going through major reorganisations and job changes as a result of the government’s “Commissioning a Patient-led NHS”and the subsequent reconfiguration of PCTs. In some areas, such as the North East, these changes have been made more complicated by the “smoke and mirrors” of a reconfiguration that left the boundaries of many PCOs nominally unchanged, but with complicated shared management arrangements that have produced huge issues for our members including the threat of redundancy.
Conference expresses its concern that while Patricia Hewitt has said that it is for individual PCTs to choose who will provide primary care services, the pressure is still on for PCTs and SHAs to actively develop a range of providers, including the development of “Social Enterprise” bodies and “Community Interest” companies. Conference restates its opposition to these developments which threaten our vital primary care services and are detrimental to the interests of the staff providing them.
Conference notes the positive work already done by UNISON in safeguarding the interests of our members in primary care through the development of the HR framework and the issuing of the campaign pack and “Primary Care News”. Conference also notes the valuable political work that has been carried out in this area, particularly in highlighting the dangers of the shift from providing to commissioning primary care services.
This Conference believes that we need to keep up this important work and calls upon the Health SGE to:
1.Continue to support branches in defending the jobs, terms and conditions of our members employed in PCTs and SHAs by issuing advice on these issues
2.Work with Labour Link to ensure that the political and media campaign to retain directly-provided primary care services is stepped up
3.Provide training for branches in opposing the introduction of social enterprise or community interest groups to provide primary care services where they are proposed
4.Develop a recruitment and organising strategy which recognises the challenges which branches face as a result of CPLNHS.