On 17 July there was a protest outside the RUH over the plans to outsource pensions to a private company.
Residents, NHS staff, and trade unions gathered outside the RUH to protest against the decision affecting the hospitals in Bath and North East Somerset as well as Wiltshire run by the Trust.
The plan to outsource the entire NHS Temporary Staffing Bank to private equity firm Pulse/Acacium has caused alarm as there are fears over the amount workers will receive in pensions in the future amongst other concerns.
Cllr Lesley Mansell said: “This is an unsafe, unaccountable decision that puts patients and staff at risk. With new evidence showing Pulse/Acacium is financially unstable, the Secretary of State must intervene immediately.”
The protesters have highlighted the following concerns:
- Outsourcing it removes NHS control over the bank staff workforce that keeps wards open.
- Staff losing NHS pension rights and fair terms, often leave then hospitals are then forced to rely on emergency commercial agencies at double the cost, increasing rota gaps and destabilising patient care.
- The change was pushed through without scrutiny by Local Authorities or the RUH’s Council of Governors. No risk assessment, no financial benefit figures, and no full Equality Impact Assessment were produced, despite the decision potentially affecting thousands of frontline workers.
- Up to 85% of bank workers are permanent NHS employees who rely on extra shifts to survive the cost of living crisis. Under the new contract, they lose their 23.7% NHS pension contribution unless they work in the exact same role as their main job, an impossible restriction for part time and flexible workers.
- Staff will be reduced to taking a 6% private pension, slashing long term security and undermining retention.
- This does not save the NHS; it raids the pension pots of workers.
- The Trust ignored statutory consultation duties, bypassed unions, RUH governors, and local authorities.
Escalation to the Secretary of State
The Labour Group at B&NES has formally requested Ministerial Intervention, asking the Secretary of State for Health to call in the decision under Schedule 10A of the NHS Act 2006. The Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee has unanimously agreed to do the same, recognising that the Trust bypassed statutory scrutiny and removed any possibility of resolving the issue locally.
The Joint Union Committee, representing 13 trade unions, has also called for ministerial action, citing risks to staff pensions, retention, and safe staffing levels.
Bath Voice understands that the change to Pulse/Acacium will take place on 1st August.
The Royal College of Nursing said: “In March 2026, the BSW Hospitals Group Joint Committee approved the outsourcing of the NHS bank staffing function…”
“This decision by the trust means that from 1 August 2026.”
They added: “- NHS bank workers will cease to be part of the NHS workforce – workers must re-register with Pulse/Acacium to continue working.”