Hospital worker claims NHS families are ‘starving on £60 a week’ after shifts slashed during coronavirus crisis
A HOSPITAL worker claims NHS families are starving on £60 a week after shifts were slashed during the coronavirus crisis.
The whistleblower, who works at Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), has accused the hospital of showing “zero loyalty” to hundreds of zero-hour contract staff.
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The zero-hour contract healthcare assistant, who is employed by the NHS, said some staff members are struggling to get one six-hour shift a week, which would earn them £60.
Some contract staff and their families are now “starving” during the coronavirus lockdown, they claimed.
The worker told : “Over many years I have worked very hard and been loyal to the BRI.
“I have been very, very flexible, working on many wards over many years.
'NO LOYALTY'
“When it comes to wanting loyalty from the employer, there are zero hours and zero loyalty – it’s a zero-loyalty contract.
“I’m now getting about £60 a week to live on. I’m probably going to have to sign up for Universal Credit.
“We still have to pay our rent and buy food. What about those who have children to feed?”
The worker fears more than 100 zero-hour contract healthcare assistants and some nurses are in the same situation.
They said wards were closed and the number of available shifts on the booking website dropped “almost to zero”.
When it comes to wanting loyalty from the employer, there are zero hours and zero loyalty – it’s a zero-loyalty contract
Bristol whistleblower
The worker said: “The onslaught didn’t happen. Wards were closed, and they were meant to be used by coronavirus patients, but they haven’t ended up being used at all.
“Nobody knew what was going on. Across a week you can usually see 150 to 200 potential shifts. Now I’m struggling to book one in a week.”
The Trust stopped services to prepare for a “large surge” in coronavirus patients but admissions have not been as severe as anticipated.
The worker added: “This has left the zero-hour staff bank with almost no work or pay, and their families starving.
“They could have furloughed the permanently contracted staff from the closed wards and kept the bank staff covering the shifts that needed covering.”
FLIMSY FACE MASKS
The latest figures show at least 30,000 NHS workers are on zero-hour contracts.
The worker also criticised the quality of PPE they had been given.
They added: “Most of us are wearing flimsy paper face masks like the ones you see people wearing on the street.
“I don’t feel they are sufficient when patients are coughing and spluttering in front of you.”
More than 100 NHS and healthcare workers are known to have died with the virus.
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Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), said: “Only a few weeks ago, the predictions for the Covid-19 pandemic were that we should expect a large surge in the number of patients.
"In order to prepare for this, and in line with national guidance, it was essential that we temporarily pause some services and non-urgent operations.
"This, unfortunately, meant that we had to reduce the number of temporary staff we needed through Bank working.
“We appreciate this has caused anxiety among our temporary staff due to the lack of availability of shifts.
"Thankfully we have not seen the surge in patients that was anticipated.
“We hope to soon reintroduce some of the services that have been temporarily paused, which will provide more opportunities for temporary staff to work additional shifts."
