Action Plan

The Surrey and Borders NHS Partnership ( S&BP) recently cut the £3 a day wages to disabled people working in its showcase Old Moat Garden Centre in Epson Surrey. S&BP, which has financial difficulties, claimed it had cut these meagre payments to ' Modernise' its services.

Read more here exploitation of disabled people in the workplace

This blog was set up so that people disgusted with S&BP's actions and concerned about getting justice for the Old Moat Garden Centre workers could co-ordinate their efforts to more effectively campaign against this shameless exploitation. From its responses to date it seems that S&BP does not believe that ordinary members of the public have a right to scrutinise its actions.

Corporate Aims

The following Policy & Aims Wheel' Capturing Hope and Building on Dreams' appeared in the December 2005 edition of the Surrey & Borders Partnership newletter ' Transitions.

Here's what S&BP had to say about its pretty picture at the time:

"Vision and Values are very important to the Trust. They will actively govern the way we work and the decisions we make in the future. Our aim is for all people to be able to use the reference statements in the outer circle to describe their experiences of the Trust."

The reality is a lot uglier though. Lets consider those reference statements in the context of S&BP's exploitation of disabled workers at the Trusts Old Moat Garden Centre.

"We communicate honestly"

"We are real about money"

"My Contribution is Valued'

The Surrey and Borders Partnership has just taken the pitiful £3 a day it was paying its disabled workers away from them without any notice and these people felt so valued one disabled workers father took up the Trust' penny pinching with the press and his local MP.

S&BP Chief Executive Fiona Edwards clearly needs some moral guidance to help her lead her organisation back into its inner ring of Vision and Values.

Please help Ms edwards to do this by using the links on this blog to protest about the disgusting way the Surrey and Borders NHS Partnership Trust is currently exploiting disabled people at the Old Moat Garden Centre in Epsom

Please also feel free to add to or comment on our action list and posts.

Thanks.

Brief Action List


1. Set up action list that explains the issue, what action we are taking and what other people can do to help.

2. Contact the orginal news organisation that reported on this issue and Radio Jackie and give them a short ' Surrey & Borders Trust digs in heels over cuts to disabled garden centre workers pay ' update.

3. Use the Freedom of Information Act to request a copy of the Modernisation document from Surrey & Borders NHS Trust Pertnership to get details of how it consulted with the garden centre workers over this and to obtain other relevant information.

4. Find out more about S&BP generally.

5. Find out more about Priority Enterprises , the 'brokering ' organisation here , and if necessary write to their funders to ensure a professional response.

6. Write to the Charity Commission about Priority Enterprises refusal to respond to complaints while it manages disabled people whose workplace conditions and views are clearly being ignored. .

7. Write to DWP, Health and Safety Executive and DTI asking them to ensure ' Modernisation ' complies with their rules and regulations and the law . S&BP has used the term ' Therapeutic Earnings' , this category was officially ' Modernised ' into the ' Permitted Earnings ' scheme, only S&BP has attempted to ' Modernise' by totally cutting workers pay.

8. Raise concerns about S&bp's actions with your MP..

9. Find out more about the garden centre , local worthies on board , who its suppliers are , etc. so that pressure can be applied on the ' business ' itself and reported to the local media. S&BP should not profit from treating its disabled workers in such a mean spirited way.

10. Write to Trade Unions active within the S&BT Trust.

11. Write to LD & MH charities asking them to form an opinion on this appalling situation.