Angry NHS staff meeting uploaded to YouTube

NHS workers described "chaos" on wards, financial hardship and excessive workloads during an online staff meeting uploaded to YouTube.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT) held a Teams call to explain why it was cutting some shifts.

Up to 400 staff took part as management heard concerns from angry colleagues.

The video was not on the trust's YouTube channel but was accessible publicly via a link. It was made private after the BBC contacted the trust, which said it was "disappointing that confidentiality was compromised".

During the call, one staff member challenged senior management by asking: "Have any of you been on the wards at the moment and seen the chaos?"

She continued: "All the staff are feeling the same. You go home with this tremendous sense of guilt."

The staff member claimed she had to look after 16 patients during one shift.

However, the trust said an investigation revealed the ratio to be one staff member to nine patients, which it said was not unsafe. It said there was also staff sickness on the shift in question.

The meeting on 2 April was held to discuss the trust's decision to cut back on bank shifts to save money.

Bank staff provide temporary or on-demand shifts at hospitals or other healthcare facilities, filling gaps in the rota when regular staff are unavailable.

The trust is looking to save £73.5m this financial year - about 10% of its annual costs.

It runs Peterborough City Hospital, Hinchingbrooke Hospital near Huntingdon and Stamford and Rutland Hospital, alongside community services.

The video had been on YouTube for a month and viewed by about 340 people before its privacy settings were changed.

The 80-minute call began with a trust executive acknowledging staff anger and anxiety at the cuts to bank hours.

This, she explained, was down to a requirement for all NHS trusts to cut expenditure in this area by 10%.

One colleague claimed no bank shifts were available to book "for the following two to three months".

"I rely on bank to pay for everything," she told the meeting.

Members of the management and executive team also encouraged staff on the call to apply for permanent roles within the trust.

However, in the same meeting they highlighted how the vacancy rate had "improved by 40%" and that it was "the lowest for some time".

"There's now so many people without an income," the meeting was told.

"Every trust in the country is having the same conversation" was the response.

One member of the bank staff claimed their workload was that of "two-and-a-half people".

She described the "horror" on colleagues' faces at the news her shifts were being ended.

They would find it "incredibly hard to cope", she said.

Unison eastern regional organiser, Rad Kerrigan, said it was "concerning" the meeting had been uploaded to YouTube, "given the very personal testimonies".

"It's clear the trust's security measures haven't kept this out of the public domain in this instance," he added.

Mr Kerrigan continued: "Bank staff have an important place in keeping patients safe and many workers rely on bank shifts to make ends meet. To suddenly take those shifts away risks putting people in dire financial straits."

A spokesman for NWAFT said: "We stand by our aim to be transparent with our staff as we navigate the NHS-wide challenge of delivering financially sustainable patient care together.

"Whenever there are changes that involve our staff, we provide the opportunity for open discussions in which colleagues feel they can participate in confidence. Our staff have shared how much they value this approach.

"It is disappointing that confidentiality was compromised in this case and we are supporting those staff involved with their concerns."

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