A health trust boss has been criticised by staff because she is leaving for a temporary secondment while their jobs are under threat.

South East Essex Primary Care Trust chief executive Julie Garbutt will be seconded to Norfolk PCT from Thursday to become interim director for several months.

But staff, many of whom still do not know whether they will still have a job once the merger of Southend and Castle Point PCTs is completed, feel this is the wrong time for her to be going.

Geoff Reason, Unison's regional head of health for the east of England, said: "I think we need some consistency, that's the problem.

"A lot of staff are telling us there is constant change. We never know what the next plot is going to be. Many of these staff were transferred into the new PCTs two or three years ago, and now it is all changing again.

"Every time, the support staff who provide the facilities have to reapply for the new jobs. It is very demoralising for people.

"But we are keeping an eye on it. An employment guarantee has been negotiated which is in place until June this year and there are processes governing how people apply and gain the new jobs once they become available.

"We also have a regional group looking at the outcome of the organisation."

While Mrs Garbutt is in Norfolk, its interim director of strategic development and commissioning, Lorraine Cabel, will become interim chief executive.

Trust chairman Katherine Kirk said: "I understand that this is a sensitive time for our staff.

"We are fully committed to supporting all of them during this period of change and have put in place an excellent support package to do this.

"I would like to reassure our patients that the many improvements we have made to the health and healthcare of our residents will continue unabated in the coming months."