RCN calls for improved pay award for NHS staff

Published: 22 October 2012

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today (22 October) warned that staff cuts and NHS reforms are leading to mounting concerns about the quality of patient care as well as damaging staff morale and motivation.

In its evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body, the RCN also warned that the double impact of a two year pay freeze alongside inflation is seriously affecting the living standards of nurses across the UK. It calls for an above inflation pay award that protects NHS wages against inflation and addresses the effective cuts in earnings that staff have suffered during the two year pay freeze. The report states that NHS staff have endured a real terms pay cut of up to nine percent in the last two years alone.

While there is clear evidence that nurse staffing levels make a difference to patient outcomes and the quality of care they receive, the RCN today states that the link between staffing levels and outcomes also depends on having a highly trained and motivated workforce. It calls on the Pay Review Body to recognise the potential damage caused by the fall in nursing numbers on patient care and on workforce morale and motivation, and warns that the drop in nursing numbers is set to become a deepening, long term trend. 

Adding to this a joint Staff Side survey of NHS trade union members found that almost two thirds of nurses said they had seriously thought about leaving their job, and a third would leave for a post outside the NHS. The top two reasons for considering leaving the NHS are stress/workload (80 percent) and staff shortages (67 percent). Two thirds of respondents said morale had declined in the last 12 months, while 71 percent said staff shortages have frequently occurred in their workplace over the past year.

RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:

“There’s no doubt that many nurses are really struggling, both financially and in the workplace. On a daily basis, they are telling us they do not have enough staff to deliver good quality care. Demand for services is rising, however posts are being cut, and amid the backdrop of a two year pay freeze this is a recipe for a completely demoralised workforce. We also believe that the impact of inflation and the pay freeze has taken a damaging toll on the living standards of our members.

“We call on the Pay Review Body to acknowledge the impact of shrinking nursing numbers and the NHS reorganisation on patient care and on workforce morale. We urge them to make a recommendation to raise NHS pay rates that both protects their real value and makes a significant contribution to addressing the major deterioration in NHS earnings over the last two years.”

The RCN has today also published its annual Labour Market Review, which shows that the supply of nursing staff is being seriously threatened by Trusts cutting posts to save money and by reducing commissioned training places for nurses. Commissioned places for pre-registration nursing has fallen by nearly nine percent from 2010/11 to 2011/12, while at the same time the RCN has identified more than 61,000 posts that have been axed or are set to go across the UK, affecting the quality of care that patients receive. This is particularly concerning at a time when 12 percent of the nursing workforce is aged 55 or over and a quarter is aged 50 or over.

Four years ago, the RCN warned in a previous report that the future nursing workforce depended on policy and workforce planning decisions. However, since that time the loss of clinical and nursing posts has accelerated.
Dr Carter added:

“Our evidence paints a worrying, yet realistic, picture of the nursing profession. Nurses are clearly concerned about their financial situation and the huge impact that the pay freeze is having on their finances, and our Members Support Service is receiving an increasing number of calls from our members needing advice. In addition, we know that in the workplace staff are being stretched more than ever before, raising serious concerns about patient care in the coming years.”