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NHS staff in north-east England will join the dole queue as the public pay for typing work to be outsourced to the Philippines.
South Tees NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, which manages eight hospitals in Teesside and North Yorkshire, has commissioned Manchester profiteer Prescribe to do the work at a rate of 13p per line.
But according to healthcare union Unison, Prescribe simply passes the work on to a Filipino company.
“This is not just about taxpayers’ money, it is about patient confidentiality and data protection,” said Unison regional organiser Mark Clifford.
“One wonders if members of the public who use the hospitals are aware that their details and other sensitive information are being sent to Manchester and then on to the Philippines?”
Meanwhile, the trust is making staff redundant and cutting wages, including those of healthcare assistants, school health secretaries and medical secretaries.
Unison said that it was also closing wards and community hospitals and using costly agency staff to cover shortages.
Unison branch secretary Glen Home said that the trust faced a deficit of £91 million due to government cuts.
“The time has now come for a thorough and independent inquiry to be conducted into the management and running of the hospital,” he said.
“In particular the trust board and chief executive officer must now be held accountable for their decisions.”
Unison has asked Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Tom Blenkinsop to raise the matter in Parliament.
