Health unions protest over PHE axing
A total of 13 health unions and professional organisations have written to health and social care secretary Matt Hancock to protest at Public Health England (PHE) being subsumed into the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP).
Unite is one of the 13 signatories of the letter, and its national officer for health Jackie Williams said PHE was being lined up as the fall guy for ministers’ bungling over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“There has been a complete lack of consultation with expert stakeholders and the unions representing the staff about the future functions of PHE at a time when the country is still in the middle of a global pandemic,” she said. “Such discussions should take place as a matter of urgency.
“The dire situation is compounded by Tory peer Dido Harding being parachuted in to run the NIHP with no apparent qualifications for the job.”