East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust has announced plans to sell hundreds of cleaners, caterers, porters, security and other support staff out of the health service.
It means facilities services will be run by a private company responsible to their shareholders, not patients. Private contractors run services as cheaply as they can — cutting corners and slashing staff pay and conditions — so that they can make a profit.
Colchester services are currently in house, but at Ipswich facilities services are outsourced.
The £50m contract runs out in April 2025. Instead of taking the chance to bring everything in house and run directly for the benefits of patients, the trust board has decided to privatise all services as a job lot.
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