Cash-strapped NHS Trust spends £370,000 on employment tribunals

A cash-strapped NHS Trust in Greater Manchester has spent more than £370,000 on employment tribunals so far this year.

Data from a freedom of information (FOI) request showed the Northern Care Alliance (NCA) had eight annual employment tribunal cases brought against it in 2021, a figure which increased to 14 over a year in 2023.

The Trust, which runs Rochdale Infirmary amongst others in hospitals in Salford, Bury and Oldham, has seen legal spending on employment tribunals rise sharply, from £121,000 in 2021 to £377,000 so far this year.

The NCA’s overall legal spend hit £925,000 last year, the FOI revealed.

It comes as the Trust announced this month that it is facing a £29 million deficit in its finances, and following recent claims of poor staff morale at one of its sites at Salford Royal Hospital.

A report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2022 found that staff at Salford Royal ‘did not always feel respected, supported and valued’, and ‘did not always feel listened to.’ The inspection focused on the quality of emergency care services at the site.

Then in June this year, Salford councillor John Warmisham said staff at Salford Royal remained “disillusioned and unhappy” with how they were treated by management.

During a meeting at Salford Civic Centre, Mr Warmisham told senior NCA leaders that they have “failed” the city.

“In the community there’s still the perception that Salford Royal is failing the city and things aren’t changing,” he said.

“People in the Salford community are very unhappy with some of the services they receive at Salford Royal.”

The NCA said it is making improvements and that staff are confident in the plan moving forward, although one senior leader admitted there had been a “crisis of staff sickness” in January and February on a dermatology ward at Salford Royal.

The NCA was formed in October 2021, combining Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

It employs around 20,000 members of staff and delivers services to one million people in total.

When the NCA was formed,  the number of employees working for the organisation at the time more than doubled.

It is thought that the rise in employment tribunals may have been made worse due to a backlog of cases from the closure of courts during the pandemic.

Gertie Nic Philib, chief people and strategy officer at the NCA, said there are signs that staff morale is improving at the Trust.

They added: “Our colleagues are our greatest asset and we strive to make their working environment as supportive and inclusive as we can.

“There are many resources available across the Trust with a particular focus on psychological wellbeing, staff networks, free complementary therapy and we offer flexible and agile working.

“We have recently introduced work anniversary and long service awards to recognise the commitment and dedication of our people.

“Our most recent NHS staff survey results showed an increase in staff morale over the past year and while we recognise that we may not always get things right, we always encourage our colleagues to share their experiences and contribute to our improvement journey.”

Declan Carey, Local Democracy Reporter