NEWS
Staff face fight to keep weekend pay if 24/7 services are introduced By Alistair Kleebauer @alistairbauer Nurses will have to fight to keep the extra pay they receive for working unsocial hours as the NHS moves towards seven-day working, the RCN has warned. Speaking at the RCN joint representatives’ conference in Glasgow last week, RCN general secretary Peter Carter said a government move to ask the NHS Pay Review Body (RB) to examine how seven-day services can be introduced without extra money could be a ‘precursor’ to stopping unsocial hours payments to NHS staff. In August health minister Dan Poulter wrote to the RB asking it to examine ‘affordable out-of-hours working arrangements’ for seven-day services in England. The government is pushing forward plans to ensure the NHS provides the same level of service at weekends as during the week, arguing that it would improve patient safety. An analysis by researchers from University College London and other UK institutions of more than
14 million hospital admissions in 2009/10 found the increased risk of mortality at the weekend could be up to 11 per cent on Saturdays and as high as 16 per cent on Sundays. Many hospital staff, including consultants and laboratory technicians, do not work at the weekend, which can affect the quality of care.
A LITTLE EXTRA PAY MAKES IT EASIER TO WORK WEEKENDS – Peter Carter
‘Most people treasure their weekends and to get a little extra money makes working a little easier,’ said Dr Carter. ‘We all want 24/7 services, but it is not as simple as getting a few doctors to work a few extra days.’ Nurses and other workers get additional pay for working on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, ranging from time plus 30 per cent to double time depending on their pay band.
RCN director of nursing and service delivery Janet Davies, who also spoke at the conference, said the government drive to ensure more health care is provided every day of the week must not be done ‘on the cheap’. ‘There are some real opportunities in seven-day working,’ she added. ‘I do not want you to think it is simply negative, but it does require significant nurse leadership.’ NHS England’s national medical director Sir Bruce Keogh’s forum on NHS services recommended adopting clinical standards that patients should expect seven-days a week by 2016/17. But Ms Davies added that seven-day services would put ‘incredible stress’ on the labour market. She said: ‘We already know demand is outgrowing supply. If we do move towards seven-day care, we will certainly need extra staff and it is going to be difficult to see where we can get them from.’ A Department of Health spokesperson said: ‘The RB will consider all the evidence and report back to the government next year.’
PA
Nurse awarded MBE tells others to ‘aim high’ One of the leading lights of the UK’s black minority ethnic (BME) nursing community collected her MBE for services to nursing and to children in Jamaica from Prince William during a ceremony at Windsor Castle last week. Paulette Lewis said she hoped her honour would inspire other BME nurses to aim high. ‘We need more BME nurses in leadership positions in the NHS and work is going on to change this,’ she said. ‘There is a lot of talent out there but we need more senior BME role models.’
NURSING :: voluses 29without no 6 :: permission. 2014 15 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal useoctober only. No 8other Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Staff face fight to keep weekend pay if 24/7 services are introduced By Alistair Kleebauer @alistairbauer Nurses will have to fight to keep the extra pay they receive for working unsocial hours as the NHS moves towards seven-day working, the RCN has warned. Speaking at the RCN joint representatives’ conference in Glasgow last week, RCN general secretary Peter Carter said a government move to ask the NHS Pay Review Body (RB) to examine how seven-day services can be introduced without extra money could be a ‘precursor’ to stopping unsocial hours payments to NHS staff. In August health minister Dan Poulter wrote to the RB asking it to examine ‘affordable out-of-hours working arrangements’ for seven-day services in England. The government is pushing forward plans to ensure the NHS provides the same level of service at weekends as during the week, arguing that it would improve patient safety. An analysis by researchers from University College London and other UK institutions of more than
14 million hospital admissions in 2009/10 found the increased risk of mortality at the weekend could be up to 11 per cent on Saturdays and as high as 16 per cent on Sundays. Many hospital staff, including consultants and laboratory technicians, do not work at the weekend, which can affect the quality of care.
A LITTLE EXTRA PAY MAKES IT EASIER TO WORK WEEKENDS – Peter Carter
‘Most people treasure their weekends and to get a little extra money makes working a little easier,’ said Dr Carter. ‘We all want 24/7 services, but it is not as simple as getting a few doctors to work a few extra days.’ Nurses and other workers get additional pay for working on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, ranging from time plus 30 per cent to double time depending on their pay band.
RCN director of nursing and service delivery Janet Davies, who also spoke at the conference, said the government drive to ensure more health care is provided every day of the week must not be done ‘on the cheap’. ‘There are some real opportunities in seven-day working,’ she added. ‘I do not want you to think it is simply negative, but it does require significant nurse leadership.’ NHS England’s national medical director Sir Bruce Keogh’s forum on NHS services recommended adopting clinical standards that patients should expect seven-days a week by 2016/17. But Ms Davies added that seven-day services would put ‘incredible stress’ on the labour market. She said: ‘We already know demand is outgrowing supply. If we do move towards seven-day care, we will certainly need extra staff and it is going to be difficult to see where we can get them from.’ A Department of Health spokesperson said: ‘The RB will consider all the evidence and report back to the government next year.’
PA
Nurse awarded MBE tells others to ‘aim high’ One of the leading lights of the UK’s black minority ethnic (BME) nursing community collected her MBE for services to nursing and to children in Jamaica from Prince William during a ceremony at Windsor Castle last week. Paulette Lewis said she hoped her honour would inspire other BME nurses to aim high. ‘We need more BME nurses in leadership positions in the NHS and work is going on to change this,’ she said. ‘There is a lot of talent out there but we need more senior BME role models.’
NURSING :: voluses 29without no 6 :: permission. 2014 15 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal useoctober only. No 8other Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
