UNISON and Healthcare

UNISON is the UK's largest healthcare trade union - over 400,000 people who work in the NHS and for private contractors providing NHS services are UNISON members.

Our health members are nurses, student nurses, midwives, health visitors, healthcare assistants, paramedics, cleaners, porters, catering staff, medical secretaries, clerical and admin staff and scientific and technical staff.

And that's not all of us!

UNISON is a powerful voice for working people in the United Kingdom. We have over 1.3 million members working in public services, the community and voluntary sector and for private companies.

Looking after people at work

We represent our members in many ways, offering help and advice at work, raising your professional/local concerns or by highlighting issues that will affect all health workers at a national level. We work together to make sure our members' concerns are heard - whether it’s about pay, health and safety, discrimination or the future of our NHS.

Looking after the NHS

But there is more to UNISON than looking after people at work. We care passionately about the future of the NHS as a publicly funded service that is free at the point of delivery. This makes campaigning to stop the increasing involvement of the private sector in the provision of health care services a priority for us.

UNISON has produced guidance for healthcare workers on how to look after their patients and themselves during abnormally hot weather.

UNISON has responded to the call for evidence by the NHS Health and Well-Being Review.

The Department of Health has provisionally selected 68 pilot sites in England, offering personal health budgets for NHS services. UNISON will be demanding that the pilots are subject to a rigorous evaluation. A UNISON guidance briefing on personal health budgets is now available.

Lone worker alarms for NHS Staff

UNISON has slammed a consultation on the new Co-operation and Competition Panel for putting plans to increase competition above patient care. The Panel has been set up to make judgements on complaints from private companies and NHS bodies claiming they are being discriminated against in the NHS market.

UNISON has responded to the NMC Consultation on its Guidance on Professional Conduct of Nursing & Midwifery Students.