NEWS
TRUST STAFF VOW TO CLAIM PAY OR TIME IN CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIEU FOR EVERY HOUR’S OVERTIME WORKED FUEL POVERTY GAINS The RCN has begun the next stage of its fight for fairer pay. RCN general secretary Peter Carter visited nurses at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, who have agreed to record the number of hours they work and to claim the pay or time off in lieu. The trust has been chosen because it and the college have a good record of partnership working.
DAY IN AND DAY OUT, NURSING STAFF GO ABOVE AND BEYOND – Peter Carter
RCN council member and steward at the trust Anne Wells said: ‘Nurses will be claiming for the excess hours they work and we will support them all the way.’ The action is part of the college’s response to health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s refusal to honour the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation last year of a 1 per cent pay rise for all NHS staff.
The college says nurses and healthcare assistants are working long, stressful hours, with few taking their breaks and most working beyond their contracted hours without recompense. Dr Carter said: ‘Day in and day out, nursing staff go above and beyond for their patients. Anyone who has had contact with a member of the nursing profession in recent years will know just how long their working day is and how hard they work. ‘The government regularly says how much it values NHS staff, but the failure to give nurses a cost of living increase, coupled with the failure to pay them for the extra work they do, sends out a very different message. ‘Enough is enough. The RCN is supporting our members at East and North Hertfordshire and other trusts to ensure their contractual rights are met.’ The RCN is also selecting other NHS employers in England to take part in the latest wave of its national campaign for fair pay.
SUPPORT FROM RCN
Nurses in Scotland are backing a campaign that calls on the government to tackle fuel poverty to reduce ill health among people living in cold and damp homes. RCN Scotland has joined the call by environmental charity WWF Scotland and the Existing Homes Alliance for greater investment in energy efficiency. The government has set a 2016 target for eradicating fuel poverty, but campaigners say it should be doing more. RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe said: ‘Nurses are on the front line of patient care and know only too well the real health problems linked to poverty. ‘Children and the elderly are particularly at risk and every year we see up to 2,000 excess winter deaths in Scotland alone. ‘We need to see greater investment in making our housing stock more energy efficient, therefore reducing illnesses related to damp, cold homes.’
Peer reviews show importance of research funding Groundbreaking research carried out by nurse academics has been found to make significant improvements in patient care. An analysis of the quality of university research across 36 disciplines, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, found nurses are conducting world-leading research that is having a direct impact on outcomes for patients. The results of the analysis were published in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), a peer assessment of the quality of UK universities’ research in all disciplines. The assessment was undertaken by the higher education funding bodies for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These organisations will use the REF results to allocate funding to universities in 2015/16.
A spokesperson for the Higher Education Funding Council said it would analyse the results and make a decision on funding of nurse research by the end of March. The Council of Deans of Health, which represents all UK university faculties engaged in education and research for nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions, welcomed the results but called for even greater investment in research.
Major impact
Council of Deans chair Jessica Corner said: ‘There is clear evidence that this research has had a major impact on the quality of life and wellbeing of patients who are dealing with a wide range of health challenges. ‘We would hope to see an increase in the amount of funding available,
especially in areas such as stroke, musculoskeletal and mental health research. ‘We now need to unlock significantly more funding from the major research councils to support the world-leading, patient-centred health research that many nurses, midwives and allied health professionals excel at: taking problems from practice and solving them using the best research methods.’ Research included work at the University of Manchester that resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in the number of falls among older people and a study at the University of Southampton that led to easier, safe access to medication for millions of people from specially trained nurses, midwives and physiotherapists.
8 january 7 :: volfrom 29 RCNi.com no 19 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
TRUST STAFF VOW TO CLAIM PAY OR TIME IN CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIEU FOR EVERY HOUR’S OVERTIME WORKED FUEL POVERTY GAINS The RCN has begun the next stage of its fight for fairer pay. RCN general secretary Peter Carter visited nurses at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, who have agreed to record the number of hours they work and to claim the pay or time off in lieu. The trust has been chosen because it and the college have a good record of partnership working.
DAY IN AND DAY OUT, NURSING STAFF GO ABOVE AND BEYOND – Peter Carter
RCN council member and steward at the trust Anne Wells said: ‘Nurses will be claiming for the excess hours they work and we will support them all the way.’ The action is part of the college’s response to health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s refusal to honour the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendation last year of a 1 per cent pay rise for all NHS staff.
The college says nurses and healthcare assistants are working long, stressful hours, with few taking their breaks and most working beyond their contracted hours without recompense. Dr Carter said: ‘Day in and day out, nursing staff go above and beyond for their patients. Anyone who has had contact with a member of the nursing profession in recent years will know just how long their working day is and how hard they work. ‘The government regularly says how much it values NHS staff, but the failure to give nurses a cost of living increase, coupled with the failure to pay them for the extra work they do, sends out a very different message. ‘Enough is enough. The RCN is supporting our members at East and North Hertfordshire and other trusts to ensure their contractual rights are met.’ The RCN is also selecting other NHS employers in England to take part in the latest wave of its national campaign for fair pay.
SUPPORT FROM RCN
Nurses in Scotland are backing a campaign that calls on the government to tackle fuel poverty to reduce ill health among people living in cold and damp homes. RCN Scotland has joined the call by environmental charity WWF Scotland and the Existing Homes Alliance for greater investment in energy efficiency. The government has set a 2016 target for eradicating fuel poverty, but campaigners say it should be doing more. RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe said: ‘Nurses are on the front line of patient care and know only too well the real health problems linked to poverty. ‘Children and the elderly are particularly at risk and every year we see up to 2,000 excess winter deaths in Scotland alone. ‘We need to see greater investment in making our housing stock more energy efficient, therefore reducing illnesses related to damp, cold homes.’
Peer reviews show importance of research funding Groundbreaking research carried out by nurse academics has been found to make significant improvements in patient care. An analysis of the quality of university research across 36 disciplines, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, found nurses are conducting world-leading research that is having a direct impact on outcomes for patients. The results of the analysis were published in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), a peer assessment of the quality of UK universities’ research in all disciplines. The assessment was undertaken by the higher education funding bodies for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These organisations will use the REF results to allocate funding to universities in 2015/16.
A spokesperson for the Higher Education Funding Council said it would analyse the results and make a decision on funding of nurse research by the end of March. The Council of Deans of Health, which represents all UK university faculties engaged in education and research for nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions, welcomed the results but called for even greater investment in research.
Major impact
Council of Deans chair Jessica Corner said: ‘There is clear evidence that this research has had a major impact on the quality of life and wellbeing of patients who are dealing with a wide range of health challenges. ‘We would hope to see an increase in the amount of funding available,
especially in areas such as stroke, musculoskeletal and mental health research. ‘We now need to unlock significantly more funding from the major research councils to support the world-leading, patient-centred health research that many nurses, midwives and allied health professionals excel at: taking problems from practice and solving them using the best research methods.’ Research included work at the University of Manchester that resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in the number of falls among older people and a study at the University of Southampton that led to easier, safe access to medication for millions of people from specially trained nurses, midwives and physiotherapists.
8 january 7 :: volfrom 29 RCNi.com no 19 :: 2015 STANDARD Downloaded by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 23, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
