Last updated at 11:43, Thursday, 09 August 2012

SHE’S Wharrier by name and a warrior by nature, having spent the past two decades fighting on behalf of staff at West Cumberland Hospital. And Christine Wharrier has been a thorn in the side of numerous different management boards over the years in her role as a straight-talking union convenor.

Christine Wharrier relaxing at her Mirehouse home: ‘West Cumberland Hospital has a culture of its own, very close-knit. It’s a real community and that’s because the people who work there, live here,’ she says

This week Christine, of Calder Avenue, Whitehaven, starts to enjoy her retirement. But rest assured, this might not be the last we hear from her.

She has been employed at the Whitehaven hospital for 36 years, 21 of those working for Unison, with the past 16 as its full-time representative.

Passionate about the NHS, the hospital and its staff, Christine is now looking forward to a well-earned break. But she might return to the public eye in the future, this time to the world of local politics. And if she does, then local councils and the community would have a real asset – she is used to standing up for people, fighting for what she believes in and is not afraid of speaking her mind.

Christine started as a domestic in the previous hospital at Whitehaven Castle, going on to be an auxiliary and healthcare assistant before the union beckoned.

This passion started when she needed help herself.

“There were problems when the old Whitehaven hospital closed, promises that were not being kept. I was going to be disciplined for something that I had not done so I asked for union help,” she said. “A union is the place you turn to for help and support. After I received it, I wanted to do it for someone else. The strength in a union is all standing together, that’s when you can make things happen.”

Just over 50 per cent of the staff employed by the North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust – which runs West Cumberland Hospital and the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle – are in Unison. That’s 2,100 members (1,000 of them at Whitehaven).

“Whether it’s good news or bad, I always give it as it is, I would never lie to staff,” said Christine, who cannot praise the staff enough.

“West Cumberland Hospital is different, it has a culture of its own, very close-knit. It’s a real community and that’s because the people who work there, live here. If there’s a problem, our staff would sort it, they work together and their patient care is uppermost and foremost.”

There have been six hospital chief executives while Christine has been full-time convenor.

“In the past eight or nine years, I feel the Trust has not moved one inch. The planning for the new hospital has gone ahead but the Trust has not moved in any direction,” she claims.

The Trust is in the process of being taken over by Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust as a result of long-running financial problems.

“The Cumberland Infirmary being built by PFI (private finance initiative) was the financial death knell for West Cumberland Hospital,” says Christine. The Carlisle hospital, built in 2000, cost £67million but it’s annual repayment for 2012/13 alone is £18.6million.

“We knew they could not afford to pay the ‘mortgage’ and they had to use the West Cumberland Hospital to pay that off and that’s been the downfall of this hospital.”

The £90million redevelopment of West Cumberland Hospital has finally been given the go-ahead by the Treasury but the staff and public still don’t know exactly what services are going to be in it.

“No-one has ever been able to bottom that one out. There is a lack of beds and they are still closing them. The staff have been in no man’s land for so long, not knowing whether they have got a job, it’s not right. Staff work in fear.

“The new hospital is having a lot of en suite rooms so there must be less beds and therefore they will need less staff. The management always say we shouldn’t talk in terms of beds but beds are important for patients and also for staff – how many beds you have dictates how many staff you need.”

Christine’s thoughts about the forthcoming takeover are that big changes lie ahead.

“Staff need to see a change in the executive but they are also going to come in and make savings, and because of that there will be huge changes,” she said. “They need someone who understands the community and the way it runs. I think Northumbria will do that because they are spread out over a big area. It’s about understanding the rurality of the area.”

She thinks Foundation Trusts – which have more involvement for members of the public, including teenagers – is good in theory but time will tell. “It’s good to involve young people more, they are the next generation and they bring new ideas. I think that is very forward-thinking.”

There have been many highs and lows along the way in Christine’s career. The lows all relate to her frustration with management at the Trust.

“Over past years I feel no-one has made any decisions and that is very frustrating.

“As a union convenor you feel useless because you cannot get them to make decisions for the staff. No-one ever resolves anything now by talking it through, it always seems to go to disciplinary so no-one becomes responsible for making a decision. That has been the worst part, to see the staff go through that when things could get sorted out in a more positive way. Another low would be the amount of service reviews that the hospital is going through.

“The Trust sees the largest bill at the hospitals as staff, so they cut back on them and you can’t just do that. The executive need to remember they are also paid from the same budget.”

And the highs? “Definitely the wonderful staff,” she says. “They are funny, dedicated, lovely people and really lift you.

“Despite everything that has been going on, we have had some laughs.

“Helping the staff is also a high, it’s the small things which really matter. Being on marches and rallies is great, when you are all standing together.”

Christine is very passionate about the NHS. “The ethos of the NHS is in me. I love it and I love living in a country where you can stand up and say what you want.

“There has been lots of changes over the years so it has been challenging and an education of its own.”

But there are also things she doesn’t like. “There can be a culture in the NHS of bullying managers. Also, when there are job losses, no-one at the top ever seems to lose their jobs, they just change job titles.”

Staff gave Christine a good send-off last week with cards, flowers and a special book full of messages from many different departments at the hospital. She also went out with union colleagues to Armathwaite Hall.

Before leaving she walked around every department to say goodbye and thank them for their support over the years.

“I will really miss the staff, I will miss the laughs and the crack. I have made some good friends there and I will keep in touch.

“I think I have been appreciated and respected by the staff because of my honesty. But I have had enough now; a new Trust is coming in, it’s time for change and I decided it was time for change for me too.”

So local politics in the future might well be an option for Christine, but for now she’s taking it easy.

“I’m going to get my life back,” she says. “Nothing dramatic, just getting up in the morning and doing what I want to do.”

Christine has a son Alan, who lives in Manchester; a daughter Lynne, who lives in Workington; and a nine-year-old grand-daughter, Molly.

Friends and colleagues at the hospital also held a collection which Christine is going to use to buy some garden furniture. So the immediate plan is a simple one – relax in the garden (weather permitting) with a good book and a gin!

First published at 11:09, Thursday, 09 August 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk