A trade union has criticised a private ambulance firm for leaving staff in the lurch by walking away from a contract serving patients in Brighton and Hove.
The GMB called on health chiefs to protect jobs and prevent Thames Ambulance form being allowed to bid for further “patient transport service” (PTS) contracts.
The local contract had already become controversial with the collapse of the previous provider, Coperforma, and some subcontractors.
The contract was taken over by the publicly owned South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) which continued to use private firms too such as Thames Ambulance.
Thames walked away from its role though after saying that it was losing money on the non-emergency patient transport contract.
The original patient transport service provider for the area – the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) – declined to bid for the current contract, having expressed strong reservations to commissioners.
GMB Southern said today (Wednesday 28 August): “We will not allow Thames Ambulance to walk away and leave a mess which everyone else has to resolve on their behalf.
“The GMB has called upon Sussex CCGs (clinical commissioning groups) to do the right thing to protect jobs by supporting South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) to provide roles for willing ambulance professionals, following Thames Ambulance’s exit from their Sussex patient transport service (PTS) contract.
“The union is also calling for Thames Ambulance to be prevented from bidding for PTS contracts in the future following their substandard treatment of staff during their exit.
“With the redundancy consultation closed, 35 members of staff now await notification of the end date of service provision by Thames Ambulance within the Sussex PTS contract.
“Thames Ambulance have chosen to make all staff redundant as an alternative to any other number of options which could be discussed with representatives from the GMB Union, CCGs and SCAS.
“Thames Ambulance have told GMB the redundancies and business closure liabilities – which are estimated to cost around £550,000 – have come about because of a business rationale for leaving the Sussex contract being based (but as yet unproven) on month-on-month ongoing losses.
“GMB believe that same money could keep GMB members and their staff fully employed going forward back within the NHS and are calling for an alternative hybrid model which would allow those who wish to take redundancy to do so and those who seek to transfer and stay delivering the Sussex PTS service to do so with SCAS.”
GMB regional organiser Gary Palmer said: “GMB are condemning Thames Ambulance Group for allowing their own contract and managerial failures to destroy the lives of dedicated ambulance staff who find themselves without jobs because of Thames owners’ corporate greed.
“Thames Ambulance will walk away now and simply go on to try to seek other contracts within the NHS, blaming everyone else but their own managerial ineptitude.
