NEWS
Many nurses have lost faith in the NHS Pay Review Body’s ability to ensure they get a fair pay deal after years of government interference in its role, the Unison conference heard. Nurse Alan Manley from Tayside said the Pay Review Body (RB) simply ‘rubber stamped’ pay restraint by government. He urged delegates to back a motion for Unison to withdraw its support of the RB in favour of direct negotiation with the government. ‘We give it credibility for reviewing NHS pay, but it simply carries out government pay constraint.’ Dino Williams, from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, acknowledged the RB was not perfect, but urged delegates against abandoning it. ‘If we move away from the RB, we will be negotiating with the government, the very body that is determined to wreck our future,’ he warned. The motion was not passed.
Take part in the RCN’s pay deal consultation The RCN is urging members to have their say on the pay deal that will mean hundreds of thousands of nurses will not receive a cost of living pay rise. Under the deal announced by health secretary Jeremy Hunt last month only nurses at the top of their band and not due an increment will receive a one-off 1 per cent rise. The college is running a consultation until April 30 to sound out members on what action it should take.
Questions put to RCN members include whether they would be prepared to take part in industrial action, such as working strictly to contracted hours. The college is also asking if it should accept Mr Hunt’s pay deal, and the government’s proposal to freeze incremental pay progression for a year in 2015/16 in return for a 1 per cent rise for all nurses. Click here to have your say
WARREN MEDIA
SHOULD NURSES BE LOYAL TO THE PAY REVIEW BODY?
Click here for views on pay from nurses at the RCN Bulletin Jobs Fair in Glasgow
BARNEY NEWMAN
Unison head accuses Hunt of peddling staffing untruths Delegates voted in favour of a motion Poor staffing has reached ‘epidemic’ to campaign for mandatory ratios after levels, leaving thousands of often hearing from nurses about how they and vulnerable patients without the their patients were left unsafe as a result care they need. of too few staff. Speaking at last week’s annual A nurse with 31 years’ experience, health conference in Brighton, Unison Libby Nolan from south Wales, spoke head of nursing Gail Adams, pictured, in favour of ratios, saying that the said that care is regularly being left undone because staff CARE IS REGULARLY BEING LEFT are overstretched. UNDONE BECAUSE STAFF ARE During a lively OVERSTRETCHED – Gail Adams debate on whether a 1:4 statutory minimum pressure resulting from too nurse-to-patient ratio should be few staff was ‘exhausting and introduced, Ms Adams said: ‘It is about soul destroying’. time it was acknowledged where the At her workplace, blame lies – and it is with the government. the ratios are 1:7 It is not the fault of our staff.’ in the day and She added that health secretary 1:14 at night, Jeremy Hunt was ‘peddling the untruth’ with no that there are enough staff in the NHS to cover care for vulnerable patients.
when a nurse has to take sick leave, she said. ‘We need a ratio of 1:4 – it protects us and it protects the future of nursing,’ she added. ‘It would also turn around the culture of being made to feel a scapegoat in the press.’ Ms Nolan went on to say that she had recently been dealing with a Protection of Vulnerable Adults case involving a nurse who had left a patient on a bedpan for seven minutes instead of two, which highlighted the need for more staff. ‘She will probably never return to the ward again,’ she added. See analysis
NURSING aprilNo 23other :: voluses 28without no 34 ::permission. 2014 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Many nurses have lost faith in the NHS Pay Review Body’s ability to ensure they get a fair pay deal after years of government interference in its role, the Unison conference heard. Nurse Alan Manley from Tayside said the Pay Review Body (RB) simply ‘rubber stamped’ pay restraint by government. He urged delegates to back a motion for Unison to withdraw its support of the RB in favour of direct negotiation with the government. ‘We give it credibility for reviewing NHS pay, but it simply carries out government pay constraint.’ Dino Williams, from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, acknowledged the RB was not perfect, but urged delegates against abandoning it. ‘If we move away from the RB, we will be negotiating with the government, the very body that is determined to wreck our future,’ he warned. The motion was not passed.
Take part in the RCN’s pay deal consultation The RCN is urging members to have their say on the pay deal that will mean hundreds of thousands of nurses will not receive a cost of living pay rise. Under the deal announced by health secretary Jeremy Hunt last month only nurses at the top of their band and not due an increment will receive a one-off 1 per cent rise. The college is running a consultation until April 30 to sound out members on what action it should take.
Questions put to RCN members include whether they would be prepared to take part in industrial action, such as working strictly to contracted hours. The college is also asking if it should accept Mr Hunt’s pay deal, and the government’s proposal to freeze incremental pay progression for a year in 2015/16 in return for a 1 per cent rise for all nurses. Click here to have your say
WARREN MEDIA
SHOULD NURSES BE LOYAL TO THE PAY REVIEW BODY?
Click here for views on pay from nurses at the RCN Bulletin Jobs Fair in Glasgow
BARNEY NEWMAN
Unison head accuses Hunt of peddling staffing untruths Delegates voted in favour of a motion Poor staffing has reached ‘epidemic’ to campaign for mandatory ratios after levels, leaving thousands of often hearing from nurses about how they and vulnerable patients without the their patients were left unsafe as a result care they need. of too few staff. Speaking at last week’s annual A nurse with 31 years’ experience, health conference in Brighton, Unison Libby Nolan from south Wales, spoke head of nursing Gail Adams, pictured, in favour of ratios, saying that the said that care is regularly being left undone because staff CARE IS REGULARLY BEING LEFT are overstretched. UNDONE BECAUSE STAFF ARE During a lively OVERSTRETCHED – Gail Adams debate on whether a 1:4 statutory minimum pressure resulting from too nurse-to-patient ratio should be few staff was ‘exhausting and introduced, Ms Adams said: ‘It is about soul destroying’. time it was acknowledged where the At her workplace, blame lies – and it is with the government. the ratios are 1:7 It is not the fault of our staff.’ in the day and She added that health secretary 1:14 at night, Jeremy Hunt was ‘peddling the untruth’ with no that there are enough staff in the NHS to cover care for vulnerable patients.
when a nurse has to take sick leave, she said. ‘We need a ratio of 1:4 – it protects us and it protects the future of nursing,’ she added. ‘It would also turn around the culture of being made to feel a scapegoat in the press.’ Ms Nolan went on to say that she had recently been dealing with a Protection of Vulnerable Adults case involving a nurse who had left a patient on a bedpan for seven minutes instead of two, which highlighted the need for more staff. ‘She will probably never return to the ward again,’ she added. See analysis
NURSING aprilNo 23other :: voluses 28without no 34 ::permission. 2014 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
