Commenting on the prime minister’s speech earlier today (Thursday) launching Lord Darzi of Denham’s review into the state of the NHS, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
“The public rightly holds the NHS in high regard, but in many ways this great institution is now out of step with the modern world.
“The creation of the NHS 76 years ago under a Labour government transformed the health and life chances of ordinary working people.
“But many years of under-investment, critical staffing shortages, a failing care system and unnecessary, but damaging reforms have all taken a massive toll.
“Reform is needed, but that won’t come without a cost. Just as with social care, the NHS can’t get back to tip-top health without a well-resourced team of staff.
“Both health and care sectors are many thousands of workers short. The higher wages that will follow from the promised fair pay agreement in care will boost recruitment and leave that sector less reliant on an NHS creaking at the seams.
“The NHS might have more staff but it still doesn’t have enough. Local strikes are ongoing in hospitals across England because antiquated salary scales no longer bear much relation to the jobs skilled workers do.
“Other disputes are about staff wanting to stay in the NHS in the face of heartless trusts keen to offload them to the private sector.
“The new government’s promised a wave of insourcing to improve the patient experience. But this message is yet to reach some NHS trust bosses.
“Industrial strife aside, there are also high levels of stress-related sickness, employee burnout, and huge turnover rates to contend with. These are all symptoms of an increasingly fragile NHS.
“Staffing is crucial to turning the NHS around, but funding squeezes are forcing trusts to let workers go, freeze recruitment and cut back on training. This is completely at odds with the long-term workforce plan.
“Transforming the NHS into a service that’s the envy of the world once more won’t happen overnight. But for this to be a lasting success, staff must be involved from the off.
“No one knows the NHS better than the people who work for it. And they’re feeling pretty low at the moment. Employees need to be convinced the health service can be saved and that it has a future they want to be part of.
“The NHS must move out of its crumbling buildings and on from outmoded practices like outsourcing, short-term cost cutting and an over-reliance on a casual, agency workforce. Nothing short of a complete reset will do. At the heart of this renewal must be an understanding that the best asset the NHS has is its staff.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
