Mr Lawlor added “Elliot Dynes is a unique unit, which provides rehabilitation to mainly older patients who have suffered serious debilitating conditions such as strokes. The decision to close the centre is outrageous and will have a devastating impact on the recovery necessary by the people in need of these services, many of whom are extremely vulnerable”.
“Staff at the unit have been left in limbo, and there is a lot of anger at this move. Workers feel they may be forced to transfer anywhere in the Belfast Trust or face losing their job.”
“Ominously this is just the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to the Assembly Executive’s programme of slashing public spending, cuts are already taking place across the Belfast Trust with dire consequences for staff and patients. And if the main parties get their way, there is much worse to come. I would also like to challenge Councillor Tom Hartley, who receives £5-10k per year as a member of the board of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, to publically justify these cuts.”
The Socialist Party is campaigning to raise public awareness of these cuts and to mobilise staff and the local community against attacks on the health service in the coming months.
Like most other Governmental bodies, the WELB have placed a moratorium on the recruitment of staff as a means to met the stringent efficiency gains agreed by the Stormont parties in their three-year Comprehensive Spending Review (May 2008- April 2011). The impact of this has been to place an ever greater burden on those staff remaining on to provide front-line services.
Medical secretaries in hospitals across the Belfast Health Trust are fighting against attempts to cut jobs and pay by £3,000 per year. As a result of the decision by the Assembly Executive to make cuts of £318million in health since last year, frontline services such as those carried out by medical secretaries are being decimated.
Youth Fight for Jobs PICKET FOR JOBS: 4.15pm Thursday 18th February @ 39-49 Adelaide Street, Belfast