NHS mental health trust plans £25m in cuts to jobs and services
Body providing care in east London and Bedfordshire accused of ‘unfathomable and unacceptable’ move An NHS mental health trust plans to cut a wide range of its services and axe hundreds of jobs to close a £25m hole in its finances. The move by the East London foundation trust (ELFT) and the scale of potential cuts involved have been called unfathomable given demand for NHS mental health support…
The East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) is set to implement a £25 million budget reduction, which includes job losses and service cuts. This decision has been met with criticism from various quarters, with some calling it "unfathomable and unacceptable." ELFT provides mental health care in east London, Bedfordshire, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Luton.
The planned cuts involve the redesign of at least ten key services, including child and adolescent mental health care, talking therapies, addiction support, help for adults facing mental health crises, and community programs for ethnic minorities and disadvantaged groups. A 20-bed intermediate care ward at East Ham care centre, known as Fothergill ward, has stopped accepting new referrals and will close on September 21.
ELFT plans to shed 330 jobs, accounting for around 5% of its workforce of 6,000. Richard Munn, a trade union representative, expressed grave concerns over the potential impact on patients, particularly the under-18s and those requiring immediate psychological treatment. Unite is preparing to ballot its members at ELFT for potential strike action.
The Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse, Apsana Begum, has raised concerns over the lack of consultation and transparency regarding the cuts. The campaign group Keep Our NHS Public warns that patients may be compelled to seek private treatment due to the severe service reductions, thus straining the already limited NHS budget. ELFT maintains that the cuts are indicative savings proposals and will undergo impact assessments before implementation.
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