This petition is for SUFFOLK COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE STAFF.

IF YOU ARE A NON STAFF MEMBER AND WANT TO AN NHS PROVIDER TO NOT BE REPLACED BY A PRIVATE COMPANY PLEASE GO TO THIS LINK

 http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keep-suffolk-community-healthcare-nhs-public/

UNISON Eastern RegionHealth Lead: Tracey Lambert Church Lane House, Church Lane Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1UW This is not a circular and you need to read and act on this letter TODAY. Thursday, 08 March 2012 On the 28th of March 2012 the successful bidder or bidders for services currently run by Suffolk Community Healthcare is going to be announced. You are hopefully aware that SCH maybe split into four different “lots” and run by different organisations or run in its current form by a single organisation.  While some NHS Trusts are on the shortlist, there are a number of private, profit making companies that have also been shortlisted.   You are part of a team of SCH that delivers some of the highest quality primary care services in the country.  UNISON strongly believes that moving services from NHS providers undermines the care that can be provided, lowing quality for patients. There is no evidence that SCH staff or Suffolk residents want private companies to be responsible for delivering these services.   Public money should be invested in health services not given to shareholders for profit.  Serco is a private company and has been shortlisted to run all the services currently delivered by SCH.  Serco has no experience of running all the primary care services in an area as big as Suffolk.  Other providers are bidding with limited experience of running services with the scope of SCH.  If a private company is awarded the contract, your terms and conditions as an existing employee will be protected but any new staff will be employed on different, probably worse, terms and conditions.  UNISON does not believe that it is right that there will be a two-tier workforce.  UNISON thinks primary care in Suffolk should be delivered by a NHS trust.  However, we want to know if you would prefer to be employed by a NHS trust or a private company.  Your opinion is important.  Some members have asked us to collect the views of staff.  We have enclosed letters for you to sign and return to us so we can present these to NHS Suffolk who will be responsible for choosing who employs you in the future. We think they should take your feelings and opinions into their final decision before they announce the preferred bidder who will eventually employ you. This is something you need to do today. If you sign the letter included and place in the free envelope, we will do the rest. We will be publicly fighting to ensure that Suffolk Community Healthcare continues to be run by a NHS trust. We think this is one of the most important letters you will send this year.   We need to have your letter immediately so we can present all the letters by the 28th March. Please do this now. We have also organised open meetings for all SCH staff to find out what UNISON is doing and give us your views.  Please, try and attend these meetings. Tracey Lambert (RGN) Head of Health UNISON Eastern region There are emergency briefing sessions at: 20th March, 9-12 Walnutree Hospital Board room (SUDBURY) – (½ hour meetings: on and ½ past the hour) 20th March 1.30pm – 4pm Newmarket Hospital (Main Building) Gibson Room (½ hour meetings: on and ½ past the hour) 21 March 10-1 Suffolk PCT, Rushbrook House, Bramford, Ipswich, IP8 4DE (½ hour meetings: on and ½ past the hour) 23rd March 11-1 Age UK, Saxon House 7 Hillside Road, Bury St. Edmunds IP32 7EA (½ hour meetings: on and ½ past the hour) Non UNISON Members Welcome FAO By Signing this petition you are sending the following letter as belowChief Executive, Commissioning board and Scrutiny Panel Suffolk PCT Papermill Lane Bramford IP8 4DE Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to take this opportunity before the preferred bidder is announced for Suffolk Community Health Care, to remind you that Mr Lansley, Secretary of State for Health, recently declared that there would be “no privatisation of the NHS” and that the “NHS is not for sale”. I am very concerned that a number of private sector companies are shortlisted to run part or all of the services currently run by Suffolk Community Health Services. I am proud that SCH is currently regarded as one of the highest quality providers of primary health services in the country.  There is no evidence that a private company can run the organisation better than a NHS Trust.  SCH staff do not want the services to be privatised and neither do the communities we serve.  I do not believe a profit making company should be awarded the contract to run primary care in Suffolk.  I work in Suffolk Community Healthcare and want it to remain in the NHS. Yours faithfully,