Sussex hospital drivers to be paid after weeks without wages

Drivers turned up at Docklands' base in Worthing last week to find buildings locked

Staff working for a sub-contractor of the firm responsible for Sussex hospital transport are to get paid after weeks without wages.

The firm, Coperforma, has faced criticism since taking over the non-emergency hospital transport service.

Docklands Medical Transport's (DMS) drivers turned up for work on 14 September to find the depots closed.

Coperforma has agreed to pay Docklands staff by Friday, with the NHS stepping in if payments are not made on time.

Earlier this month, four sub-contractors, including DMS, said Coperforma was "refusing to pay invoices".

The companies then warned if invoices remained unpaid they would no longer able to pay staff.

Coperforma responded saying: "Our contractors' invoices are being paid on time."

The GMB union demonstrated outside Eastbourne General Hospital on Tuesday

On Tuesday there were demonstrations by ambulance staff in Eastbourne who said they had not been paid for up to seven weeks.

The NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG) has said it will intervene if Coperforma is unable to pay staff by the end of the week, and will pay the outstanding salaries itself.

Paying staff 'priority'

Wendy Carberry, the chief officer of the High Weald Lewes Havens CCG, said: "It is completely unacceptable that [the drivers] have not been paid.

"We expect Coperforma to make a payment on Friday. There are complexities with paying these staff who are not contracted to Coperforma or the CCG," she said.

"Money will go to the GMB and they they will pay the staff."

She said should Coperforma not make the payment to the GMB on Friday, then the CCG would make a payment on Monday.

"The priority is to get the staff paid, then we would recover the costs from Coperforma," Ms Carberry said.