Management
and unions at University Hospital Birmingham (UHB) will today sign a
partnership agreement that will allow staff representatives to help shape
decision-making at the highest levels.
The
agreement, which follows two years’ of negotiations, aims to replace the
previous ‘them-and-us’ relations at the three-star NHS trust with a shared
vision, common understanding and joint communication between the management and
staff.
UHB
is one of the first public sector organisations in the UK to make this sort of
agreement.
Management
and staff will be working towards the Governments ‘Agenda for Change’, and the
development of a new private finance initiative (PFI) hospital.
The
agreement will be signed by Mark Britnell, chief executive UHB; and Margaret
Lakin, chairperson of staff side.
University
Hospital Birmingham is one of the Midlands’ biggest employers with a workforce
of more than 7,000, in the Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak hospitals.
The
staff are represented by a number of unions including Unison, Amicus, the
Society of Radiographers and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
TUC
general secretary Brendan Barber said: "UHB is led and staffed by
imaginative, patient and determined people seeking co-operation to produce the
best healthcare for Birmingham’s residents.
"The
TUC’s Partnership Institute is proud to have played a key role in brokering
this ground-breaking agreement."
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Barber
said the partnership agreement will establish effective engagement between
managers and staff to create a new style of inclusive management at
departmental, divisional and corporate levels.
