COUNCIL leaders have promised to treat care staff facing the axe more “compassionately” than colleagues at another rehab centre that they closed a year ago.
The promise came as cabinet members approved the closure of East Bristol Intermediate Care Centre at a meeting on May 2.
About 25 staff – all women and most over 50 – are affected but Bristol City Council hopes most will be found posts elsewhere.
Last year, South Bristol Rehab Centre staff were told they would transfer to community healthcare provider Sirona at South Bristol Community Hospital on the same pay, terms and conditions.
But the deal fell through and trade union GMB complained the workers were treated “absolutely appallingly”, kept in the dark for months and not asked for their views, with the majority going off sick with “high levels of stress, anxiety and depression”.
Human resources bosses apologised and said they had learned from mistakes when the 33 employees lost their jobs, of which only nine were redeployed to other council roles.
Cabinet Cllr Helen Holland said: “I’m pleased to report that for the majority of people who’ve had that conversation with their managers, there are going to be redeployment opportunities for them within Bristol. Redfield Lodge, our care home that’s run by the city council, is within a reasonable distance for people who work at East Bristol Intermediate Care Centre, and hopefully many of them will be redeployed there.”
She said very few councils still provided rehab services when adult social care budgets faced huge pressures.