Councillors in Bath and Wiltshire have voiced strong concerns about plans to transfer hundreds of NHS bank staff from NHS employment to the private company Pulse, effective August 1. The move affects staff at Bath’s Royal United Hospital (RUH), Salisbury NHS Trust, and Swindon’s Great Western Hospital NHS Trust, collectively known as the BSW Hospitals Group.
Bank staff—who take on flexible shifts to cover absences or heightened demand across nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals, and support roles—are currently employed directly by the NHS. This transfer aims to reduce costs by cutting employer pension contributions from the NHS rate of 23.7% to Pulse’s 6% for approximately 40% of the bank workforce who do not hold substantive NHS contracts; the remaining 60%, who do bank work in addition to their main NHS roles, will retain the NHS pension contribution.
Dine Romero, Chair of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee, stated, “We are concerned this change could negatively affect the provision of services to our local residents.” Former RUH governor Nicola James criticized the move, saying, “This is not an efficiency saving; it is a cost deliberately shifted onto the workers to address a deficit.”
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The financial rationale anticipates savings between £3.3 million and £5.4 million annually driven largely by reduced pension expenses. However, unions unanimously oppose the plan. Unison branch secretary Baz Harding-Clark warned, “The reduction in employer pension contributions could cost healthcare assistants tens of thousands in retirement income, and removing bank staff from the NHS risks jeopardizing the trust’s ability to cover staff shortages promptly, which could compromise patient care.”
The secretive nature of the announcement—made public only after pressure from union representatives and former governors—has also alarmed local officials. The NHS Integrated Care Board was only briefed on the day the committee discussed the matter. Councillors believe the hospital trusts breached their duty to inform them of significant workforce changes.
Representatives from the BSW Hospitals Group defended the plan as a necessary transformation under current NHS financial pressures, aiming to cut costs, improve workforce efficiency and resilience while making the transition as smooth as possible. They also encouraged staff to apply for permanent NHS roles where available.
Meanwhile, Protect Our NHS B&NES condemned the transfer to a for-profit company, highlighting the risk of losing experienced staff and further straining an already overburdened NHS.
The health scrutiny committee is considering whether to escalate the matter to the Secretary of State, underscoring the significant unease this decision has generated among local leaders, staff, and the community.