NEWS
APPLY NOW FOR OLDER PEOPLE’S CARE FELLOWSHIP
Senior nurses in the UK are being encouraged to apply for a place on a new one-year older person’s nurse fellowship programme. A dozen places are available to nurses on band 8 and above on the part-time programme, which is funded by Health Education England. It begins in November and will be run by King’s College London and the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery. The programme will help nurses develop enhanced knowledge and skills in areas such as assessments and advanced end of life care planning. The application process for this November’s course closes on September 19. A further 12 places will be available in 2015/16, starting in March 2015. If you are interested in the fellowship go to www.kcl.ac.uk/nursing/study/ Older-Persons-Nurse-FellowshipProgramme.aspx
TUC WARNS TORY PROPOSAL ON STRIKES IS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC AND IRRATIONAL Unite head of nursing Rachael Proposals by the Conservatives to ‘ban Maskell said: ‘We are seeing real strikes by the back door’ are an attack inequality being built into the on fundamental liberties, the leader ballot process. Politicians can make of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) decisions on people’s pay on their has said. The party’s manifesto proposals call own low turnouts, yet they are making it almost impossible for for strikes to be illegal unless at least workers to protest.’ 50 per cent of balloted members in a The union Unite, along with union vote. others But including speaking at WE ARE SEEING REAL Unison and the annual INEQUALITY BEING BUILT TUC congress INTO THE BALLOT PROCESS the Royal College of in Liverpool, – Rachael Maskell Midwives, general is balloting secretary members on industrial action Frances O’Grady said: ‘It is an over pay. It is only the second time irrational, inconsistent and Unite has balloted on industrial anti-democratic test. action. That first vote generated ‘For example, a 49 per cent vote for 36 per cent turnout. action with none against would be The comments come as it was invalid, while a narrow 26 per cent announced that MPs will receive to 25 per cent vote for action would a pay rise of 10 per cent next year, be legal. It makes an abstention more taking their salaries to £74,000. powerful than a vote against.’
Uncertainty surrounds NMC role if Scotland says yes Next week on September 18 the historic vote on Scottish independence the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is unable to confirm whether nurses in Scotland will remain on the register. The Scottish Government has indicated that it would like to maintain independent services such as the NMC for the regulation of healthcare professionals, but it is not clear what legal jurisdiction the regulator would have in a non-UK country. A spokesperson for the NMC said: ‘If Scotland votes yes to independence, the future regulation of Scottish nurses and midwives will be a decision for the Scottish and UK governments. We will work with both in the interest of public protection.’ There are more than 70,000 nurses and midwives with a Scottish address who are registered with the NMC. The spokesperson would not confirm if plans had been made for a possible
‘yes’ vote. She said that, in the case of a yes vote, there would be a transitional period during which a decision on nurse regulation would be made. The Scottish Government has indicated that following independence, nurses trained in England or Wales would continue to have their professional qualifications recognised in Scotland under European Union rules, and vice versa. But it is not yet clear if Scotland would be permitted to remain part of the EU if it becomes independent, which could affect nurses’ freedom of movement. Pay in the health service is considered by the NHS Pay Review Body on a UK-wide basis, but Scotland, which has a largely devolved healthcare system, could decide whether or not to accept recommendations. This year it chose to
accept recommendations that all nurses should receive a 1 per cent pay rise, while England rejected them. The referendum was debated at RCN congress earlier this year. The college has stated that its position regarding the referendum is one of total neutrality, but it has already decided to remain a four-country organisation. Unison, which represents 300,000 NHS members, said it had received very few enquiries about the future of registration, adding that most had been about pay, pensions and staffing levels. A spokesperson said: ‘If there is a yes vote the Scottish Government intend that current arrangements remain in place. This seems perfectly reasonable in the short term, but there are valid questions over whether this would be sustainable longer term.’
NURSING :: vol no 2 ::permission. 2014 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal september use only. No 10 other uses29 without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
APPLY NOW FOR OLDER PEOPLE’S CARE FELLOWSHIP
Senior nurses in the UK are being encouraged to apply for a place on a new one-year older person’s nurse fellowship programme. A dozen places are available to nurses on band 8 and above on the part-time programme, which is funded by Health Education England. It begins in November and will be run by King’s College London and the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery. The programme will help nurses develop enhanced knowledge and skills in areas such as assessments and advanced end of life care planning. The application process for this November’s course closes on September 19. A further 12 places will be available in 2015/16, starting in March 2015. If you are interested in the fellowship go to www.kcl.ac.uk/nursing/study/ Older-Persons-Nurse-FellowshipProgramme.aspx
TUC WARNS TORY PROPOSAL ON STRIKES IS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC AND IRRATIONAL Unite head of nursing Rachael Proposals by the Conservatives to ‘ban Maskell said: ‘We are seeing real strikes by the back door’ are an attack inequality being built into the on fundamental liberties, the leader ballot process. Politicians can make of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) decisions on people’s pay on their has said. The party’s manifesto proposals call own low turnouts, yet they are making it almost impossible for for strikes to be illegal unless at least workers to protest.’ 50 per cent of balloted members in a The union Unite, along with union vote. others But including speaking at WE ARE SEEING REAL Unison and the annual INEQUALITY BEING BUILT TUC congress INTO THE BALLOT PROCESS the Royal College of in Liverpool, – Rachael Maskell Midwives, general is balloting secretary members on industrial action Frances O’Grady said: ‘It is an over pay. It is only the second time irrational, inconsistent and Unite has balloted on industrial anti-democratic test. action. That first vote generated ‘For example, a 49 per cent vote for 36 per cent turnout. action with none against would be The comments come as it was invalid, while a narrow 26 per cent announced that MPs will receive to 25 per cent vote for action would a pay rise of 10 per cent next year, be legal. It makes an abstention more taking their salaries to £74,000. powerful than a vote against.’
Uncertainty surrounds NMC role if Scotland says yes Next week on September 18 the historic vote on Scottish independence the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is unable to confirm whether nurses in Scotland will remain on the register. The Scottish Government has indicated that it would like to maintain independent services such as the NMC for the regulation of healthcare professionals, but it is not clear what legal jurisdiction the regulator would have in a non-UK country. A spokesperson for the NMC said: ‘If Scotland votes yes to independence, the future regulation of Scottish nurses and midwives will be a decision for the Scottish and UK governments. We will work with both in the interest of public protection.’ There are more than 70,000 nurses and midwives with a Scottish address who are registered with the NMC. The spokesperson would not confirm if plans had been made for a possible
‘yes’ vote. She said that, in the case of a yes vote, there would be a transitional period during which a decision on nurse regulation would be made. The Scottish Government has indicated that following independence, nurses trained in England or Wales would continue to have their professional qualifications recognised in Scotland under European Union rules, and vice versa. But it is not yet clear if Scotland would be permitted to remain part of the EU if it becomes independent, which could affect nurses’ freedom of movement. Pay in the health service is considered by the NHS Pay Review Body on a UK-wide basis, but Scotland, which has a largely devolved healthcare system, could decide whether or not to accept recommendations. This year it chose to
accept recommendations that all nurses should receive a 1 per cent pay rise, while England rejected them. The referendum was debated at RCN congress earlier this year. The college has stated that its position regarding the referendum is one of total neutrality, but it has already decided to remain a four-country organisation. Unison, which represents 300,000 NHS members, said it had received very few enquiries about the future of registration, adding that most had been about pay, pensions and staffing levels. A spokesperson said: ‘If there is a yes vote the Scottish Government intend that current arrangements remain in place. This seems perfectly reasonable in the short term, but there are valid questions over whether this would be sustainable longer term.’
NURSING :: vol no 2 ::permission. 2014 9 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal september use only. No 10 other uses29 without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
