Put NHS pay right to stop NHS staff quitting amid cost-of-living ‘apocalypse’, says UNISON

UNISON has today (Wednesday) written to Sajid Javid urging significant action on pay to stop the exodus of health service staff as they face ‘a cost-of-living apocalypse’. The union warns that the NHS workforce is in crisis and the consequence of more employees quitting will be “longer ambulance queues outside hospitals, ever-increasing waiting lists and people who are in desperate need of treatment getting sicker”. This worsening scenario is outlined in the letter sent to the health and social care secretary. The union has also sought support from Amanda Pritchard at NHS England, Danny Mortimer at NHS Employers, Chris Hopson at NHS Providers and Philippa Hird, who chairs the NHS pay review body. More than 35,000 health staff and members of the public have signed an online version of the letter. In it, they appeal for all health workers to be paid fairly​, both for the job they do and for every hour ​they work. To get their message across, NHS staff will pose ​later today (Wednesday) outside UNISON’s headquarters in London with a giant envelope addressed to Sajid Javid ​featuring a ​special ‘put NHS pay right’ stamp​. The NHS faces an exodus of ​workers​, which has major implications for patient care, ​says UNISON. The letter from the union says action is needed desperately “to stop more dedicated, hardworking but exhausted staff leaving the health service this year”. It continues: “We are asking you to...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News Press release healthcare nhs pay Sara Gorton Source Type: news