MEDICAL staff across the county are being balloted on strike action after the mental health trust they work for proposed big pay cuts as part of a restructure of services.

Administrators and medical secretaries at Sandalwood Court and other facilities in Wiltshire fear that the 53 full-time equivalent posts that will be lost and specialised medical secretary roles that will disappear if the proposals by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust go ahead will have a massive impact on the workload of the remaining staff and affect the quality and safety of care they provide in Sandalwood Court and other facilities.

In December, staff held lunchtime demonstrations outside their places of work to voice concerns about the proposals and voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a consultative ballot held earlier this year. The ballot is open until May 22 and any strike action could start in June.

UNISON member Sue Gill said: “This restructure has led to many staff, including myself, not feeling valued for the work that we do. We’re currently paid at NHS Band 4. The new job descriptions place our roles at Band 3 despite very minimal differences in the work that we’ll be expected to do.

“For a number of years vacancies within the trust have not been filled and the strain is now showing, I worry what the workload will look like when more staff disappear. I could lose almost £200 per month from my pay packet if this restructure goes ahead and whilst I’m close to retirement I’m concerned about the financial impact this will have on my colleagues.”

UNISON regional organiser Michael Sweetman said: “It is outrageous that these proposals have been sold by the employer as a way to improve consistency and job satisfaction. In reality they represent a dangerous attempt to obtain mental health services on the cheap and furthering the race to the bottom by downgrading staff and reducing their pay.

“Around 100 staff could be impacted by a reduction in pay of up to 12.5 per cent. In some cases, this equates to an annual loss of over £3,000. Coupled with the financial loss, the changes being implemented will see an overall increase in workload. Mental health support in the UK is already in crisis, with increasing need countered by under-resourcing of services.”