Strike at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership?

Earlier this year UNISON entered (jointly with the Royal College of Nurses) in good faith into the AWP’s internal grievance process, and a collective grievance was formally heard on 27^th March 2015. At the heart of this grievance were concerns around the safety of service users and staff well-being. Such concerns hinged on problems with the New Model of Working in Bristol Mental Health, especially regarding caseload sizes for registered staff, and the role of Recovery Navigators who were being inappropriately allocated complex and risky patients. Despite key concerns being ‘partially upheld’ by the hearing Chair, and having continually raised members’ concerns, UNISON believes that these issues have not been resolved and that the internal grievance process has markedly failed thus far to deliver any significant improvements on the ground for our members. Consequently, management has left us with no choice other than to enter into a vote of no confidence.

UNISON has now conducted an Indicative Ballot (administered by UNISON South West region) among its members working for Bristol Mental Health partnership in the three Assessment and Recovery Teams, Early Intervention, and Bristol Crisis Service. This includes both AWP employees and staff working for voluntary and community sector partners.

The ballot was framed around a series of promises which have not been kept. In particular, that:

• Recovery Navigators would only be allocated non-complex and low risk clients
• Caseloads for registered staff would be markedly reduced
• Bristol Crisis Service would be adequately staffed

The ballot results were that on a turnout of 63% there was a 95% vote for strike action representing 60% of the total membership.

This is a significant body of staff saying they would take strike action over issues which have at their heart concerns around quality of care, the safety of service users and staff well-being.

It is a clear mandate to start moving towards a ballot for strike action. We await your response. In the meantime we will be involved in on-going meetings and discussion with affected staff around the next steps.

 Signed: UNISON members working in Bristol community mental health services (three Assessment and Recovery Teams, Early Intervention, and Bristol Crisis Service)