A major staffing change affecting local NHS resilience and patient care should be paused, published in full, and reviewed properly in public.

I am calling on the BSW Hospitals Group, the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, and local health scrutiny bodies to urgently review the decision to transfer NHS bank staff at the Royal United Hospital Bath, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, and Great Western Hospital to private company Pulse.

Bank staff are not a side issue. They are essential to the safe and flexible running of local NHS services, helping cover sickness, vacancies, annual leave, and spikes in demand across clinical and non-clinical roles.

I am not personally affected by this decision, but I have worked as bank staff across Wiltshire community services, at the RUH acute hospital, and under the RUH at a large local vaccination centre. From that experience, I know how important bank staffing is to keeping services running safely.

The reported savings appear to come in large part from reducing pension contributions for a substantial group of workers. That is not a harmless efficiency measure. It risks making bank work less attractive, driving away experienced staff, and weakening the resilience of already stretched local NHS services.

If this decision leads to the loss of flexible, experienced staff, the consequences may be felt not only by workers but by patients and services too.

This decision should be paused and properly reviewed.

I am calling for:

1. An immediate pause to implementation  

2. Full publication of the business case and impact assessments  

3. Proper public and democratic scrutiny before any transfer goes ahead

Local NHS services depend on bank staff. A change of this scale should not go ahead without transparency, accountability, and proper review.