"Treated like animals" - Colchester Hospital patient describes impact of strike action

A patient at Colchester Hospital says strike action by UNISON members is resulting in less food for patients and a “stressful” environment.

John Smith spent a fortnight in hospital with respiratory issues, and said patients are being offered a sandwich or soup instead of an evening meal.

“We are being treated like animals, like livestock,” Mr Smith said.

“It’s been a nightmare - I could have handled a day, but I can’t handle a week.”

Non-medical members of staff - including porters, cleaners and caterers - walked out from Colchester Hospital and others run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust [ESNEFT] on Monday, over fears that their jobs could be moved to an outside company.

UNISON Eastern regional organiser Sam Older said it was “deeply sorry” for the impact of the industrial action on patients, but staff were striking “to protect the long-term quality of the services they provide to patients.”

Mr Older added that the quality of hospital meals would suffer under a private company, leading to a decline in patient care.

“Add to that a two-tier workforce with morale at rock-bottom and it’s clear that these services are better in the NHS,” Mr Older said.

Nick Hulme, Chief Executive of ESNEFT, said patient care and safety is “top priority” during the period of industrial action, adding that the Trust was “disappointed” that UNISON had gone on strike “while we are still involved in ongoing conversations with them and their members”.

The Trust says that all patients are given a hot meal at least once a day – at lunchtime for the majority – with hot soup and a sandwich being offered as an evening meal.

It added that staff are also able to order additional food for any patients who need additional nutritional support, and that staff from other roles were volunteering “to cover different shifts and duties to maintain essential services” during the industrial action.