Bristol Council promises to be kinder to rehab staff

The council accepts things should be learned from the way South Bristol Rehab Centre was shut

Council leaders have promised to treat staff more compassionately after learning lessons from a rehab centre closure last year.

Bristol City Council chiefs came under fire for how they dealt with employees at South Bristol Rehab Centre.

The promise came as City Hall cabinet members approved the closure of East Bristol Intermediate Care Centre.

Human resources bosses apologised and said they had learned from mistakes when 33 employees lost their jobs.

'Anxiety and depression'

Last year, South Bristol Rehab Centre staff were first told that 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 staff were said to suffer "high levels of stress, anxiety and depression".

At Tuesday's council meeting, cabinet member for adult social care and integrated care system Cllr Helen Holland said: "The cohort of workers at East Bristol is very different to what it was in South Bristol and it's also different because of how we've approached it.

"The HR committee asked for a 'lessons learned' report after the closure of South Bristol, because there were some significant workforce issues raised.

"As part of the lessons learned, one of the things was we would certainly brief ward members better than we'd done in the South Bristol situation."

She said very few councils still provided rehab services when adult social care budgets faced huge pressures, and that health partners were better placed to do this, although none had offered to take over the centre.

About 25 staff, all women and most over 50, are affected by the closure of East Bristol Intermediate Care Centre, the council's last rehab centre, which cares for older people between leaving hospital and going home.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]