Health Minister Robin Swann has announced a mileage rate increase for health trust staff in Northern Ireland.
The increase applies to work-related car travel by Agenda for Change (AfC) staff, including Trust-employed domiciliary care workers and district nurses. The current rates are 56ppm for the first 3,500 miles, and 20ppm for each mile thereafter. After considering a range of options for AfC staff, the Minister has decided to increase the rate paid for mileage incurred above 3,500 miles to 30p per mile for an initial six-month period, to be reviewed.Commenting on the temporary increase in mileage rates, Rita Devlin, Director of the RCN in Northern Ireland said:
“The cost-of-living crisis is having a significant impact on nursing staff. Increasing fuel prices have left some nurses and nursing assistants subsidising health and social care services, and effectively paying to work.
“RCN Northern Ireland and the other health trade unions have been working closely with the Department of Health for some time to campaign for an increase in mileage rates. While this is a modest increase, it will be a relief to staff who have experienced considerable financial strain to provide care to patients.
“In the longer term, we need to ensure that community nurses and nursing assistants are not disadvantaged simply for doing their job and we will continue to campaign for a sustained review of the current arrangements. We must also ensure that nursing is an attractive and well rewarded career if we are to retain the valuable staff that we have.”
