See below for the full text of a reply from Director Julie Screaton to Jason’s letter of 8 September regarding the Health Education England job cuts

Dear Mr Moyer-Lee

RE: Response to IWGB open letter (8th September 2016)

We note the open letter posted on your website on 8th September 2016 regarding the proposed restructure of the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (PGMDE) support functions for London and the South East. I understand that you represent a trade union that is not recognised by the NHS nor the University of London although I am aware that you have some members within the team who are affected by this change

The NHS is changing how it delivers care to the population of this country. Our ambition is to improve services closer to peoples’ homes and to radically improve prevention to reduce demand on services and improve the health of the nation. To help enable the NHS to successfully transform in this way means we have to deliver the services that administer the support for training and recruitment in the most efficient way possible to allow us to increase the amount of funding we provide for doctors, nurses and other NHS staff to deliver better care. This is part of the wider challenge for the NHS to ensure resources are being used in the most effective way for the delivery of frontline care to patients and communities.

The London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) post graduate medical and dental education teams came together in Stewart House at the end of 2015 to create the Healthcare Education Team (HET). This coming together of the teams was an important step in creating a more efficient and cost effective support function to our Post Graduate Deans who oversee the training of 16,000 junior doctors. The London team had worked hard to digitise thousands of papers records to save space. This enabled us to move the KSS team from expensive offices in London Bridge into Stewart House, saving thousands of pounds in rent. Together, the two teams under new leadership have invested months in reviewing their business processes to reduce duplication and save time. Our ability to become more efficient was supported further by the fact that London was the last PGMDE office in England to introduce the intrepid computer system already in place across the rest of HEE, having in place 20 year old technology that was no longer fit for purpose.

The consultation on the proposed changes within the PGMDE team ended on 7th September 2016 and no decisions have yet been made. Engagement with our staff has been ongoing for months and will continue. This along with strong partnership working with our recognised trade unions, notably UNISON, is critical to ensuring we develop better ways of working to improve how the team works, the service we provide to doctors in training and releases resources to the front line of the NHS. Any decision we make on the future structure of the teams will take full account of the impact on our staff and stakeholders, including the minimisation of compulsory redundancies.

Yours sincerely

Julie Screaton
Director