RCN wins over £5 million in compensation for members in 2008

Published: 19 December 2008

For immediate use, Friday 19th December 2008

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced today that it had won a record £5,061,140 in compensation for members in 2008. The compensation was awarded for Personal Injury and Employment disputes.

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

“The fact that the RCN has secured over £5 million in compensation for members over the last year shows our commitment to getting fair treatment for nurses and healthcare workers, and to making sure that employers treat staff well and secure a safe working environment.

“However, this also represents £5 million which could have been better spent on frontline services if employers kept staff safe, treated all staff fairly and encouraged good working practices. We would urge the NHS and private health care providers to improve on these areas to reduce the distress caused to staff and the money spent on compensation.”

Ends

Notes for Editors

£5,061,140 is the amount of compensation received by members as compensation and damages during 2008, from both the private and the public sector. Of this total, around £1,600,000 came from employment tribunal claims and the rest from Personal Injury and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. Money lost from the health services will be higher because of the legal costs incurred in the compensation process.

For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit www.rcn.org.uk/news/mediacentre.php

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.