NHS trusts running West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket Community Hospital and Ipswich Hospital offer staff members option to leave under mutually agreed resignation scheme
NHS trusts running hospitals in Suffolk are offering some staff members the option to resign as they work to make financial savings.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Ipswich Hospital, has given staff in administrative and clerical roles the opportunity to apply to leave the trust, under a mutually agreed resignation scheme.
In a further attempt to ‘achieve significant savings during the current financial year’ there will be a recruitment freeze on posts.
This freeze will be in administrative, clerical and corporate functions, including HR and communications.
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Nick Hulme, chief executive of ESNEFT, which also runs Colchester Hospital, said: “Like every NHS trust and organisation, we have been asked to make changes and savings within our administrative, clerical and corporate functions.
“These are difficult decisions. Taking these steps will help us to achieve the savings we need to make while protecting our frontline services and retaining staff who wish to remain in employment at ESNEFT.”
Mr Hulme added: “This is part of a wider, ongoing conversation that, ultimately, is about improving the lives of the 10,000 people who are relying on us every day.
“I’d like to offer my reassurance that while we go through this process, we will make sure our services remain safe. People in our communities will continue to get the care, treatment and support they need, when they need it.”
Natasha Hunt, UNISON Colchester and Ipswich area health branch secretary, works as a nurse for ESNEFT.
She described the mutually agreed resignation scheme as ‘bad news for staff and patients’.
“Anyone working in the NHS knows the vital contribution made every day by administrative employees,” said Natasha.
“They’re doing everything possible to ensure patients get high-quality care.
“Without the support of administrators, nurses, doctors and other overstretched healthcare professionals will be forced to spend more time on clerical tasks and less time caring for patients.”
“The NHS needs real investment in its workforce, not destructive staff cuts,” she added.
The resignation scheme at ESNEFT will start on June 2 and close on July 31, it is not open to clinical colleagues.
A spokeswoman for the trust said it does not plan to undertake any extra schemes to achieve savings in the 2025/2026 financial years.
She added that natural turnover is also expected by not recruiting to posts when staff leave.
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) has implemented a mutually agreed resignation scheme.
This is open to corporate services and admin and clerical staff across the organisation which runs West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, and Newmarket Community Hospital.
The scheme is open for four weeks and will close on June 10.
Claire Sorenson, deputy director of workforce at WSFT, said all NHS trusts are taking ‘difficult but necessary decisions’ to ensure they are ‘living with their means’.
She said: “Reducing the number of temporary and permanent staff we employ is one of the ways we’ll achieve this.
“But a mutually agreed resignation scheme helps us minimise redundancies by creating more opportunities for people whose roles are at risk to be redeployed.
“MARS isn’t open to everyone and won’t suit everyone’s personal circumstances.
“It’s a completely voluntary scheme and, if someone’s application does get approved, they’ll be offered a severance payment.
“Each successful application leaves behind a role we can offer to someone who’d otherwise be facing redundancy, which could make a huge difference for them.”
UNISON Eastern regional organiser Rad Kerrigan said: "West Suffolk Hospital staff are already feeling the pressure from a wave of restructures and recruitment freezes.
"Support staff are essential in keeping the NHS running, getting waiting lists down and checking appointments go smoothly.
"Without them, clinical staff simply can't do their jobs.”
What is a mutually agreed resignation scheme?
A mutually agreed resignation scheme is a voluntary programme where an employee can agree with their employer to leave their role in return for a severance payment.
MARS is not the same as redundancy or voluntary redundancy, unlike redundancy, roles vacated through MARS are not removed from the organisation and can be filled through the redeployment of other employees or traditional recruitment.
