The South Western Ambulance  branch of Unison met on Tuesday 12th August to discuss and help formulate its response to moves by the trust to apply for Foundation Trust (FT) status.

The meeting, which took place in Taunton, brought together a number of Branch executive members and reps. A couple of guest speakers were also welcomed - Sam Oestreicher (National head of Unison's Ambulance sector) visited from London to offer his expertise. Also, Joel Byers, Branch secretary of North east Ambulance Branch, was able to present a valuable insight from an ambulance service which is further down the road to F.T. status.

The issue of F.T. status is a difficult one, with many complex factors involved. Unison nationally has traditionally objected to the principle of Foundation trusts. Yet our management are saying that successful application would secure the Trust into the future, and they warn of dire consequences if FT status is not achieved. In some other areas, branches have decided to support FT applications despite any objections of principle. For now, we have taken a   cautious approach and we are determined to gather as much information as possible before we, as a branch, take a well-informed and intelligent stance.

The branch would like to offer sincere thanks to those who attended the Taunton meeting.

A Unison Q&A on the subject of Foundation Trusts is available. You can follow the link to it HERE.

As always, we need feedback from our members. If you have a view, please email us.

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