A CONTROVERSIAL consortium set up to look into introducing regional pay for NHS staff in the south west, including Dorset, has met for the first time.

It is now preparing a business case amid fears from some workers that breaking away from the national Agenda for Change could lead to pay cuts, longer hours and less holiday.

The 20 members of the consortium – labelled a “pay cartel” by unions – include the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hosp-itals, Poole Hospital , Dor-set County Hospital, Salis-bury Hospital and Dorset HealthCare, behind comm-unity health services.

After the first meeting of its steering group, led by Poole Hospital chief executive Chris Bown, a statement was released spelling out the difficulty of the task ahead.

Pay currently accounts for between 60 and 70 per cent of health trusts’ costs. A two-year pay freeze imposed by the Government ends in this financial year, and there is a proposed one per cent pay cap in future.

But Monitor, the independent regulator for foundation trusts, estimates that an average sized trust will still need save around £9 million each year until 2017 to stay in financial health.

“The consortium recognises that the NHS faces a time of unprecedented challenge, both financially and in the provision of services to our patients,” admitted Mr Bown.

He acknowledged the staff and unions’ concerns and repeated the consortium’s commitment to work “positively and constructively” with them.

“We remain fully supportive of the national discussions between employer representatives and unions, which are looking at modernising the current Agenda for Change pay model,” he said.

“The consortium believes that rather than watch these negotiations from a distance, we can and should work in the background as these discussions take place to give us the best opportunity to be sustainable in the years ahead.

“Financially healthy NHS organisations mean improved opportunities to preserve employment and a reduced need for redundancies.”

Each of the trusts has so far contributed £10,000 towards the consortium’s costs. The GMB union claims it could cut frontline staff’s pay by 15 per cent.