Corporate Services Managers
Our health services couldn’t function without the essential work carried out within organisations’ support functions. In reality, the distinction sometimes made between teams labelled ‘frontline delivery’ and ‘back office’ is entirely false – for patients’ treatment is as dependent on the staff who deliver buildings, vehicles and communications channels as on those providing medical treatment.
Many of our members work in these support roles, occupying management jobs in fields including HR, finance, facilities management, ICT and digital, procurement and contract management, risk management, communications, and programme and project management. Their employers include
NHS bodies,
social care providers, and
private and voluntary sector health providers across the UK – the latter group including outsourcing businesses such as Capita, which have taken over former NHS teams transferred into the private sector under TUPE regulations. Whatever their employer, role or location, MiP members working in support functions are entitled to expert,
one-to-one support from our network of national officers.
Even after joining MiP, many specialist staff retain membership of professional bodies within their own field, such as the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, the British Institute of Facilities Management, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. And MiP works with these bodies whenever doing so helps to protect and defend our members. But our respective roles are normally quite clear; for whilst professional bodies are best placed to help their members with skills, qualifications and career development, MiP has the skills, knowledge, relationships and services to support and protect people within the unique – and uniquely challenging – environment of the UK’s health and care services.
In particular, our support staff members often call on us to represent them in casework involving issues around organisational change, outsourcing and redundancies; disciplinary and grievance procedures; and wellbeing issues such as stress and sickness absence.