Student nurses bursaries not fit for purpose, says UNISON report

Tuesday 2 June 2015

UNISON  is calling on the Scottish Government to urgently increase bursary rates for Student Nurses and Midwives in the next academic year. This recommendation is part of the UNISON’s report Caring, Learning and Worried about Money which was published today (Tuesday 2 June 2015).

The survey of student nurses across Scotland found that 85% of student nurses relied on financial support from family and 83% say they have been in debt in the last year. Around half (42%) were running up credit card debts, 14% took out a loan and 6% had turned to high street loan companies.

Matt McLaughlin UNISON’s regional organiser for the NHS said: 
 "The present system of funding student nurses and midwives is clearly unfit for purpose.

UNISON pays tribute to Chief Nursing Officer who leaves her post today

Wednesday 24 September 2014

Commenting on the announcement by the Scottish Government Health Dept that Chief Nursing Officer, Ros Moore is to leave her post, Matt McLaughlin, Lead Organiser for Nursing paid tribute to her approach and professionalism saying,

“UNISON Scotland have worked closely with Ros Moore since she came in to post, she has during that time been a great advocate for nursing and the profession.  She quickly developed really good working relationships with UNISON which has enabled us to start to tackle some of the challenges facing nurses in Scotland today.  She takes the time to listen to people and has always put patient care central to all that she does.”

Commenting on the impending vacancy within the Health Department, Matt said,

“It is vital that the Scottish Government move quickly to fill this vacancy and that someone is in post before Ros leaves. We need to be assured that high quality, professional nursing continues to be a priority for Scotland, any delay will send the wrong message to Scotland nurses.”

Matt added, “Ros told nursing members at UNISON annual conference that she felt our role was to be good ancestor for those who come after us – she understood that the NHS is a family and that UNISON nurse members had a big role to play, she has been a great nursing role model who will be missed. We wish her all the best for the future.”

Hundreds of health workers win backdated maternity leave public holidays - #JoinUNISON

6 June 2013

Women health workers in Scotland are to receive backdated public holidays they were wrongly denied while on maternity leave.

NHS mums, including nurses, physiotherapists, cleaners, midwives, admin workers and other staff, could receive up to seven days if they were in full time posts. Women who have had more than one period of maternity leave since 2008 would be due backdated holidays for each period.

UNISON members tell Newsnight Scotland about workload pressures on nurses and midwives

25 April 2013 #JoinUNISON

UNISON health workers spoke out on Newsnight Scotland last night about the pressures on overworked staff.

Nurse Cathy Miller and community midwife Catherine Lewis described day to day stresses of the job for staff expected to do more and more in the same hours.

Cathy said that paperwork and bureaucracy has increased to such an extent that members report struggling "between direct patient care and paperwork care".

Catherine explained that growing workloads causes real strains as staff, even after prioritising the care they provide, may have to work through breaks, have no breaks, work beyond their shift, with consequent effects on their personal life - all "to deliver the level of care we want to deliver", because staff have a conscience and want to do the job properly.

The whole interview is on BBC iPlayer, about 2 mins 10 seconds in.

Matt McLaughlin, UNISON Scotland's lead organiser for nursing, said today that our survey published last week (report in the Herald) showed that members "across Scotland and the rest of the UK feel they are regularly short staffed.

"This leads to people not taking breaks, working on extra and people feeling they don't have time to provide the added quality in their care that is in fact an essential part of the job.

"This is why we have called for minimum staffing levels. We see that as a reasonable and safe way to provide care for patients across the UK."








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Challenges facing nursing - the real challenge is openness

3 April 2013

 

Challenges facing nursing in NHS Scotland

by Matt McLaughlin, UNISON Scotland's lead officer for nurses

Think NHS – think nurses.

Let’s face it, everyone loves nurses. Whether it’s a photograph of nurses on a 1980’s picket line or imagery of a modern nurse, in a clinical environment, for many Scots if we are thinking about the NHS, we think about nurses.

The last few months have been tougher than usual on Scotland’s nurses. As the reality of budget cuts and short staffing began to bite over the winter, the service struggled to cope. Media sources were filled with horrific stories of service failure and the government’s top men and women were spinning all over the place trying to convince us all that they were “managing” the seasonal upturns “effectively”.

Of course good news doesn’t sell papers - so stories of nurses and midwives pulling double shifts to make sure that patient care in their ward wasn’t compromised, or the thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of instances where a nurse, midwife or nursing assistant went the extra mile for a patient are and will remain unreported.

The challenge for Scotland’s nurses is not, however, one of image or confidence. The real challenge is openness.

Not for nurses. The profession and its membership are very open and honest about the challenges that they face. Survey after survey of Scotland’s nurses identifies major concerns every time they are undertaken.  On the other hand, politicians and decision makers continue to promote a version of reality that seems alien to our members and now it seems many patients.

UNISON wouldn’t go as far as to say that the NHS is in crisis, but it is under pressure and it needs urgent and open action soon.

The service simply can’t go on pretending that there is not a problem. Successive surveys into nursing attitude and staffing levels have found that across the UK – never mind Scotland, nurses are worried about staffing levels. Indeed a UNISON survey in 2012 found that less the 10% of respondents felt that they were always able to deliver safe and compassionate care.

Results of a recent Nursing Times survey (UK), supported an earlier UNISON survey carried out in 2009 in NHSGGC. The latest survey found that whilst 73% of respondents had completed an ‘incident form’ (to record a professional concern) only 24% ever received feedback from their manager or higher up. 

Despite these and other surveys, nursing seems to remain fixed in a downward spiral. Everyone wants to talk about nursing, everyone wants their photograph taken with a nurse but no seems prepared to listen and even if they do look like they are listening - practical action seems a step too far!

There are a number of issues, big ticket issues in our NHS which will without doubt affect nursing, the profession and organisations like UNISON will without doubt steer a patch through them. However, as we stand at this point in time, arguably the major challenge for nursing is not one of clinical direction or policy, but rather one of image and the major risks that are associated with continuing to be a political football.

To politicians and policy makers the message is simple. The cost of relying on nurses to support your latest political headline, is support for nurses and the NHS. Stop using the nurses as a political tool, and start listen to the service and develop policies and initiatives which support nurses and the wider NHS team.

 

This article is published in the April 2013 edition of Healthier Scotland - The Journal, journal of Socialist Health Association Scotland. p15.

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UNISON warning on staffing levels and financial pressures on health boards

3 April 2013

UNISON warned last night that the NHS in Scotland cannot be complacent about avoiding the terrible failings at Mid Staffordshire in England.

Newsnight Scotland reported on the launch yesterday of a pilot ‘whistleblowers’ phoneline for health service workers.

The National Confidential Alert Line for NHS staff ( 0800 008 6112 ) is being piloted for a year.

Examining a range of incidents in Scottish hospitals, Newsnight also referred to the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, described as “appalling” by the Francis Inquiry, and asked whether it could be repeated here.

Matt McLaughlin, UNISON Scotland’s lead officer for nursing, said that Mid Staffordshire was clearly a very complex situation and that it is wrong to make direct comparisons with Scotland’s different health system

However, he added: “The fundamental problem for us in Scotland, I think, relates to staffing levels and to the constant pressure that health boards are under to save money, to stretch pounds further than they currently do.

“And that was a fundamental problem in Mid Staffordshire.

“Could it happen in Scotland? Yes, it could.”

 

See the whole report on BBC iPlayer here

Matt’s interview starts at about 4 minutes into the programme.

 

(See also Matt's article on the challenges facing nursing in the April edition of the Socialist Health Association Scotland journal, Healthier Scotland, p15. It is also posted on this blog.

 

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UNISON welcomes rise in student nurse and midwife numbers

24 Feb 2013


UNISON today welcomed the Scottish Government's decision to fund an increase in student nurses and midwives, the first since 2009.

There will be 100 more student nurses and midwives starting degree courses in 2013/14, a rise of four per cent.

STV reported on the decision announced by health secretary Alex Neil.

Matt McLaughlin, UNISON Scotland's Lead Organiser for Nursing, said the union had been making the case for an increase and welcomed the news.

He said: "UNISON welcomes this increase in the student nurse intake for 2013. We have and will continue to campaign and work hard to ensure that nursing and midwifery remains a key component in the future of our NHS.

"Essential to the delivery of that objective is a steady flow and invest in our student nurse recruits. We are pleased that the Scottish Government has listened to the compelling case for more students in 2013."

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UNISON appalled at Nursing and Midwifery Council fee increase

Thursday 25 October 2012

UNISON, the UK’s largest union has branded the decision of the NMC to enforce a massive 32% fee increase as unfair and disproportionate.

The union said it was deeply worried at the move, in the light of the recent £20m grant the regulator received from the government, and said there were alternatives that would mean the NMC did not have to take this step now.

The change – which is subject to Privy Council approval – will mean annual fees increasing by nearly a third from £76 to £100. The union said this would hit particularly hard given that nurses and midwives had not received any pay increase for the last two years.

UNISON head of nursing Gail Adams said:

“This is an appalling move by the NMC. There is no justice in making nurses and midwives – who have had no pay rise for two years – pay for the past financial mismanagement of the NMC.

“It beggars belief that the NMC are pushing ahead with a massive 32% increase on annual fees when they have just received £20m from the government – what message does this send to the nurses, midwives and patients whose interests they are there to protect?  

“The NMC is the largest regulator in the world, and with their predictable income, should not be in the financial mess that they are in. Registrants did not cause this problem, and enforcing a fee increase that will impact on their already stretched incomes is unfair, disproportionate and untimely.

“The NMC could, and should have postponed this decision and used the time to rebuild the trust and confidence of registrants. There was nothing to stop the NMC from freezing registration fees and reviewing the situation next year; they could then use the grant to start addressing the backlog of fitness to practise cases.

“The solution is clear, and it is extremely disappointing that the NMC are ignoring it and the respondents to their consultation.”

UNISON had already said it could not support a move to increase fees following an NMC consultation earlier this year. 
 
UNISON UK news release
http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2853

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Nurses and midwives should not be held to ransom says UNISON as unions condemn 60% registration fee hike

Monday 21 May 2012

'Scottish Chief Nursing Officer must intervene' says nursing union
UNISON Scotland, is condemning plans that will see the yearly registration fee that must be paid by every nurse and midwife increase by over 60%. This move comes at the same time as pension contribution increases mean that every nurse or midwife attempting to save for their future has just had their take home pay reduced.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has announced that it will begin consulting on raising the annual fee that nurses and midwifes have to pay to work from £76 to £120 per year. The last fee increase came in 2007, when nurses were asked to pay more to allow the NMC to build up its reserves.

The union said that serious questions need to be asked about financial management at the troubled regulatory body, which has been in special measures since 2008, and has had six chief executives and three chairs in that time.

Bridget Hunter, UNISON Scotland's lead officer for nursing said:
“Hard pressed nurses and midwives will rightly be very angry about plans to make them pay more to work. Many of these vital health workers and their families are already struggling to make ends meet. Not only have they had their pay frozen for two years, cutbacks in the Health Service mean that many newly qualified nurses are finding it difficult to get jobs and may question the value of trying to stay in the profession.

“The government cannot stand by and let the pressure keep piling onto nurses and midwives. Not only should it start applying serious scrutiny to the NMC, it must also step in and persuade the council that now is not the time to raise its fees. Health workers should not have to pay the price for the NMC’s own failures and for the government’s failure to police this body properly.

"We hope that Scotland’s Chief Nursing Officer, Ros Moore will add her voice to those opposing this desperately unfair hike in fees. ”

UNISON is seeking an urgent meeting with the NMC and with ministers, and is calling on the NMC to undertake an urgent review of its financial systems. The union made it clear that it will not support the fee rise.


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UNISON SCOTLAND NURSING CONFERENCE TUESDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2010 10-4.30pm - Trades Hall, 85 Glassford Street, Glasgow

Our public services are increasingly under attack and proposed job cuts in the NHS in Scotland could have a major impact on services and quality of patient care.

This one day conference is open to our members across the whole nursing family, including nurses, midwives, health visitors and healthcare assistants.

Together we will consider the key issues currently affecting members and offer an opportunity to discuss and debate the future for nursing in Scotland. £20.00 per delegate payable by your Branch. Contact Fiona Martin on 0141 342 2820 or f.martin @unison.co.uk

Speakers:

Nicola Sturgeon Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing

Keynote Speaker Ros Moore Chief Nurse for Scotland: 'My Ambitions for Nursing in Scotland'

Roger Thompson NMC Director of Standards and Registrations Increasing Public Protection: moving beyond the register

Gail Adams Head of Nursing for UNISON Launch of ‘Speaking Up and Speaking Out’ and ‘Raising and Escalating Concerns’

Mick McKeown, Principal Lecturer at University of Central Lancashire with Dave Mercer, Senior Lecturer at Liverpool University: Why nurses should not be in BNP Debate: Do we need as many registered nurses? Debate/discussion on skills mix and use of competences for Healthcare Support Workers.

Chair: Bridget Hunter, UNISON Lead Officer for Nursing in Scotland

UNISON welcomes government acceptance of union concerns on community nursing

UNISON, the union for nursing staff in the community, today welcomed the government’s decision not to proceed with the project started in 2006 to develop a new post of ‘Community Health Nurse’ which would absorb the jobs of District Nurse, Health Visitor, Public Health Nurse, Family Health Nurse and School Nurse

After prolonged and sustained opposition by UNISON to the threatened generic community nurse over the last three years, Cabinet Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon MSP has now agreed that it is not the way forward.

In a letter to the unions today, Ms Sturgeon confirmed, that she wishes to retain and reinforce the contribution made by existing community-based nurses in the future.

The changes to the community based roles were heralded in the Review of Nursing in the Community at the end of 2006 by the then Chief Nurse for Scotland and have been being trialled in development projects in NHS Borders, Tayside, Lothian and Highland health Board Areas until 2008. From April 2008 the changes began to be implemented, but were then reduced back to pilot projects in the original four areas.

UNISON members and members of other unions were consistently concerned that the dilution of specific skills into a generic ‘Community Health Nurse’ endangered the quality of care given to Scottish people in their own homes and jeopardised the high standard of care offered by health visitors and school nurses in health promotion and child protection.

Bridget Hunter, UNISONScotland’s Lead Officer for Nursing, said:

‘This is a major triumph for our members in community nursing. After almost three years of resistance our concerns have been eventually accepted as valid. Generic community nursing was from day one, deeply unpopular with staff who genuinely believed that it diluted specialist jobs and reduced the service the community was likely to receive. It was seen as aiming low to avoid disappointment, rather than aiming high in our endeavour to achieve excellence, and enhance skills.’

UNISON will now continue discussions with the government and the NHS to modernise community nursing services within a team setting.

Ends

Note for Editors:
A briefing from UNISON on the detailed concerns of nursing staffs on the ‘Community Health Nurse’ proposals can be found on the UNISONScotland website at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/healthcare/nursing/index.html

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