Healthcare assistants band together over pay

Healthcare support staff are launching a campaign to demand fair pay for the work they do, in a move unveiled today at UNISON’s special health conference. Maura McKenna, the vice chair of the union’s health service group executive, told delegates: “The Pay fair for patient care campaign can help branches to win pay justice and the respect, recognition and reward that this big group of workers deserve.” Healthcare support staff – mostly referred to as healthcare assistants or HCAs – work as part of the NHS team to deliver quality patient care. Over the years, as roles have evolved and expanded, they have taken on more clinical responsibilities, but without the pay and recognition to match. Pay fair for patient care is an organising campaign to locally review and re-evaluate the role of healthcare assistants, who are often working at band three level but only receiving band two pay. The campaign has the potential to boost the pay of thousands of the lowest paid staff in the NHS. UNISON national officer Louise Chinnery said: “Over the years, we have seen healthcare support workers taking on more and more as a result of nursing shortages and other pressures. “A band two healthcare assistant should be focusing on personal care tasks like bathing, toileting, feeding and brushing hair. Band three HCAs take on more clinical care duties and patient observations, such analysing urine, doing a pregnancy test, taking blood and doing simple wound care.” And Ms Chinnery ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News health pay fair for care Source Type: news