"Laid off Lancashire NHS staff receive pay outs after union campaign" says UNISON

"MORE than 50 Lancashire based NHS workers, made redundant on Easter Sunday without compensation, have received pay-outs after a union campaign," says UNISON.

Liverpool based Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust closed its Whalley site, formerly known as Calderstones Hospital, in East Lancashire, on:- 31 March 2024.

"Workers at the Hospital were told they'd be offered alternative employment at the trust's Aspen site, in Liverpool or another trust, within Lancashire. Many of the affected workers were unable to make the 80 mile round trip to Liverpool, each day, and the promised posts in Lancashire failed to materialise," says UNISON.

Mersey Care refused to offer any redundancy pay to the workers, claiming the alternative employment offered was sufficient.

UNISON members launched a campaign to secure the compensation, launching an online petition that received over 1,400 signatures.

The union says pressure from the petition and letters sent to trust bosses by the public led to redundancy pay being offered.

​UNISON says it has:- "helped many of the jobless staff into alternative NHS jobs since the closure of the Calderstones site."

Michelle Smith, a former medical secretary at the Whalley site, said:- "We are delighted the trust has finally paid us what we were owed. Being laid off on Easter Sunday with no guarantee of alternative employment or redundancy pay was a horrible experience. I've worked in the NHS for 32 years. I couldn't believe I was treated that way. I'm glad our campaign has been successful. Like many of my colleagues, I've had to make sacrifices to pay my bills and I've been worried sick about the prospect of not being able to get a new job."

Martin Garlick, the UNISON representative at the hospital, said:- "It's a huge relief for many of these workers to be paid the money they need to tide them over until they can find another NHS job. While it's a shame it came to this, I'm proud of the UNISON campaign and grateful for everyone in the community who supported these dedicated NHS staff. Alongside the campaign for redundancy pay, UNISON has also been successful in securing alternative work for many of the affected workers. We will do our utmost to keep as many people as possible in NHS employment."

The petition in support of the workers can be located online at:- MegaPhone.Org.UK.

20th Anniversary Celebrations for the Prescot Festival

A top ranking brass band, a celebrated cathedral choir and a screening of a classic British film are among the highlights of a now 20 year old Merseyside arts festival this June.

South Liverpool Orchestra opens the 10 day Prescot Festival programme in style, on:- Friday, 21 June 2024, with the world renowned Liverpool Cathedral Choir performing the following day.

The week continues with events that include a screening, on:- Tuesday, 25 June 2024, of the now legendary 1981 film Chariots of Fire, featuring a host of local locations, exactly 100 years after the real life events that inspired the film. Award winning Wingates Brass Band perform on:- Friday, 28 June 2024, in their 150th year.

To mark the 2nd birthday of Prescot's Shakespeare North Playhouse, the festival presents an afternoon of opera highlights on Monday 24 June in the venue's own Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, and the 1 woman 1 act play:- 'No Coward Soul' from Emily Parr, in the Studio Theatre, on:- Wednesday, 26 June 2024. Festival proceedings come to a close with an eagerly awaited return appearance from:- Maghull Wind Orchestra, in a Last Night of the Proms-style finale on:- Sunday, 30 June 2024.

Liverpool Bach Collective, ceilidh band 2 Left Feet, and Wirral based musical theatre company BOST are all on this year's lineup, along with musical showcases for the choral and instrumental talents of local Primary School students.

Prescot Festival Artistic director Dr Robert Howard said:- "As we reach 2 decades of the Prescot Festival, it remains an incredible joy and an honour to be able to offer this annual celebration of community music-making and local artistic talent. This year we look forward to 2 new festival events in collaboration with the pioneering Shakespeare North Playhouse, and a much-anticipated appearance from Liverpool Cathedral Choir, an ensemble that enjoys an international reputation."

Festival-goers also have the opportunity to play a part themselves, by joining a Come and Sing Choir for a performance of Faure's Requiem on:- 22 June 2024, competing in the 2024 Prescot Festival Short Story Competition, or by joining in the barn dance on:- 27 June 2024.

The 20th Annual Prescot Festival of Music & the Arts runs from:- Friday, 21 June to Sunday, 30 June 2024. Tickets go on sale on:- 1 May from:- Poco Bar and Cafe, at:- 30 Eccleston Street, L34 5QJ (cash only) or online at:- PrescotFestival.Co.UK. Please note that tickets for:- 24 June and 26 June's Shakespeare North Playhouse events are available exclusively from the theatre itself, in person or online at:- ShakespeareNorthPlayhouse.Co.UK.

Full programme details are also online at:- PrescotFestival.Co.UK.