Public Sector - Jobs to go in NHS merger
Plans for a single NHS trust in the Cardiff area have been unveiled for public consultation in a move which could see further job losses in the combined finance function.
The proposal to have one health organisation in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, promised by Welsh Secretary Alun Michael, comes three months after the previous reconfiguration exercise which saw the merger between University Hospital of Wales and Llandough Hospital, Penarth.
If the latest plans go ahead it will mean further job losses at management level and increased pressure on staff coping with integrated financial systems.
Two trusts were formed in April when the University Hospital of Wales and Llandough Hospital merged with Cardiff and District Community Health Trust and the University Dental Hospital.
The latest proposal is to merge these two trusts bringing together all acute, community and mental health services.
Alan Lloyd, acting finance director at Cardiff and District Community Health Trust, said the group was examining how to bring the two finance departments together. ‘Bringing the systems together will be a major challenge. For example, at present we are using different ledgers which will need to be rationalised.’
Lloyd refused to be drawn on whether accounting staff would face redundancy if the plan gets the green light. ‘It is really too early to say whether more staff will be made redundant. But there will be a considerable workload in terms of bringing the departments and the financial systems together,’ he said.