This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Thousands of nursing staff to protest over pay
An estimated 2,000 nursing staff are to take part in a demonstration outside parliament demanding that the government lift the one per cent pay cap.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says the cap on public sector pay, which has been in place for seven years, has seen nursing pay fall by 14 per cent in real-terms since 2010.
The RCN is threatening industrial action if the cap is not cut in the autumn budget.
In May, over 50,000 members of the RCN voted in a poll on pay, with eight in 10 saying they were prepared to go on strike if the pay cap was not lifted.
The RCN says there are over 40,000 nursing vacancies leaving health and care services without safe and effective staffing.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council also revealed that more midwives and nurses were leaving the profession in the UK than joining for the first time this year.
The demonstration was timed to begin immediately after the first prime minister’s questions of the new parliamentary year.
The RCN has also published research it commissioned with YouGov to coincide with the protest, which found that seven in 10 voters believe the NHS lacks adequate nursing staff.
Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: “Experienced nursing staff are leaving in droves – not because they don’t like the job, but because they can’t afford to stay, while the next generation do not see their future in an undervalued profession.
“If the government fails to announce a change of direction in the budget, then industrial action by nursing staff immediately goes on the table.
“The public can see the shortage of nurses for themselves. Ministers are significantly out of touch with public opinion. They should heed this warning, scrap the pay cap and help to recruit thousands more nurses for a safer NHS.”
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