The three pilot private finance initiative sites working on a secondment model for transferring staff from the NHS to private companies are likely to restart work soon on choosing preferred bidders, following government clarification of how the model would work.
The clarification, in a letter sent to Unison last week, follows advice from government lawyers that the model is legal. The Department of Health has now put forward proposals on how secondment would work, which Unison will consider next week.
However, HSJ understands there may still be serious problems with the legality of the model, as well as with the way it defines managers. It is understood that supervisors will be defined as managers and will be employed by the private companies, but the remainder of the workforce will remain in the NHS.
This could mean anyone being promoted to supervisor grade might need to resign from the NHS to join the private company.
It is also thought that problems remain where staff are already working for private companies, as is the case at Stoke Mandeville Hospital trust, and with the proposals for disciplinary procedures.
The sites - Stoke Mandeville, Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals trust, and South West London Community trust - have had the bidding process on hold while the legal and contractual issues were resolved.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge PFI director Duane Passman said the proposals looked good for the unions, given that they had achieved a lot in 'protecting terms and conditions, and access to the NHS pension scheme'. He said the trusts had been given 'robust legal advice' that they have the powers to transfer staff.
Mr Passman said he hoped the trust 'would be in a position to choose a preferred bidder before Christmas'.
Unison head of health Bob Abberley said the proposals were about 'whether we can construct a contract, and whether it is value for money'. He said the proposals took into account all the issues raised by the unions in meetings with the DoH. However, 'at the end of the day, we have to make a judgement of whether it is worthy of acceptance or not'.
Doubts about the viability of the secondment model come as University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire trust announced the appointment of Skanska Innisfree as the preferred bidder for the development of the hospital and medical school facilities on its Walsgrave site.
The trust has been given approval to proceed with the scheme although contracts will not be signed until March, and the legal and contractual issues for staff have yet to be clarified. A trust spokesman said the reason was the urgent need for new medical school facilities.
He added: 'We know there will not be any great surprises in the contracts. The various organisations at all levels who have been involved in the PFI scheme are aware what is going on at national level, and we assume they know that whatever is agreed will not provide any major stumbling blocks.'
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