NHS staff protest over eviction from Rotherham Hospital flats

A protest has been held after dozens of NHS staff were told they face eviction from hospital accommodation.

Almost 80 workers at Rotherham Hospital have received letters saying that the on-site flats, where some of them have lived for several years, are not fit for purpose.

The 1970s accommodation blocks provide affordable homes, including for many international workers.

But the trust which runs the hospital said it has to close three of the buildings after they were identified as a fire risk.

Protesters gathered outside the hospital on Monday calling for the decision to be reversed and for repairs to be carried out.

One worker, who has lived on the site for 12 years and did not want to be identified, said: "It just came totally out of the blue.

"There's a very limited [rental] market available in Rotherham. Certainly the prices I've seen aren't comparable for myself or anybody on my kind of income at the moment.

"It's a really big worry because it's potentially a situation where you're going to be made homeless. There's no attempt to communicate with us or assess the likely impact. [I feel] absolutely betrayed."

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said it "understood the concerns" being raised and had held "listening events" to try to address those worries.

But Rotherham MP Sarah Champion said the way the situation had been handled was "appalling".

"Having a note shoved under your door telling you you are going to be made homeless is not the way we treat our NHS staff," she said.

"Secondly, I know that they are trying really hard to rectify this but we need to understand the trauma this has caused people but also that some people came here from around the world to help Rotherham, to help the NHS.

"The accommodation, they thought, was part of their package, so to have that taken away was really devastating."A trust spokesperson said no tenants had been asked to leave before the end of their leases.

They added: "One to one meetings have been offered to all 76 residents so their needs can be understood and solutions developed to resolve the situation.

“The trust is committed to working with those residents affected by these changes to assist them in finding alternative accommodation and to retain them at the Trust for the benefit of patients.”

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