AROUND 60 people attended a protest rally outside RUH Bath NHS Foundation Trust to highlight the plight of bank staff.

The rally gained public support from waiting drivers, patients and staff arriving for their shifts all expressing solidarity.

Bank staff were clear and vocal that they will not sign up to the new contract with private company Pulse.

The Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire Hospitals Group argue the changes bringing all the staff together under a single service run by Pulse will make booking shifts more streamlined and accessible.

They say it will help to increase fill rates and support in “maintaining safe high-quality patient care while projected to deliver nearly £5 million in savings and efficiencies”.

Unions however have raised serious concerns, questioning whether the proposed savings are genuine and warning about the long‑term impact on staff retention.

B&NES councillor Lesley Mansell (Radstock) is warning those financial risks have now intensified with credit rating agency Standard & Poor (S&P) downgrading Pulse/Acacium, describing the company as “unsustainable”, with high levels of debt, weakening liquidity and an increased risk of debt restructuring or default within the next 12 months.

She said: “The original concern, that staff will be worse off, remains unresolved.

“It is also deeply troubling that this process has been carried out in secrecy, without consulting the local authorities across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire. Any reduction in staff earnings must be a major concern.

“Whatever short‑term savings the hospital achieves will ultimately be passed on to local authorities, who will be left supporting residents already struggling with the cost of living.”

General Secretary of Unite the union, Sharon Graham said: “The way these NHS trusts are treating the overworked and underpaid workers is a disgrace.

“They need to rethink their plans and start treating these workers with respect.”

A spokesperson for BSW Hospitals Group said: “Moving to a single, integrated bank service across the Group will enable bank workers to access a wider range of opportunities across multiple sites.

“Most staff who work bank shifts also hold substantive contracts within the Group and will retain access to NHS pension benefits through their substantive roles, including any additional hours worked up to 37.5 hours per week.

“However, we understand that some workers may find these changes unsettling and we are supporting staff through this transition. We also encourage staff, where possible, to apply for suitable substantive positions as they become available.”

The spokesperson added that the move to a single outsourced temporary staffing service will not vary the provision of service for patients and therefore, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that the decision to outsource bank staffing arrangements is not a proposal for changes to NHS services by NHS England or an Integrated Care Board.

They said: “Despite this, we recognise the importance of keeping our Local Authority scrutiny panels informed and will continue to engage with both our staff and our partners on the arrangements proposed, so we can remain committed to better ways of working together.”