POLICE CONTROL CENTRES -V- CALL CENTRES

Conference should resist any measure to compare Police control rooms with commercial call centres. Studies in the USA have shown that there has been an improvement of service to members of the public and improvements to staff retention and morale when police control centre staff are treated as an integral part of the emergency services […]

VOLUNTEERS

Conference notes with disgust the increased number of volunteers in England & Wales. Conference therefore condemns any attempts to introduce the use of volunteers within the Scottish Police Service and force in England and Wales.

PROTECTING MEMBERS IN CALL MANAGEMENT/CONTROL ROOMS

Conference is concerned at the number of members facing disciplinary proceedings specifically in the call management bureau. This is not only down to internal issues but also the amount of complaints being made from the public and therefore members are being investigated under the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Conference feels the main problem is down […]

Defending Agenda for Change

Conference notes that as we move onwards from Agenda for Change (AFC) implementation and assimilation, we are starting to lose the valuable skills of staff side job evaluators, job matchers and KSF advisors. As local staff sides (and in particular the participation of UNISON representatives), we are increasingly finding ourselves with diminishing resources resulting in […]

Privatisation and Private Consultancy Firms

This Conference views with disgust how in the 10 years of a New Labour Government the large legal and accountancy firms have been able to increase their financial turnover and profits from the public pulse strings. The grand offices of these organizations such as Herbert Smith, Eversheds, Price Waterhouse Cooper and KPMG have been furnished […]

NHS GREEN TRAVEL PLAN

This Conference Supports the development of the NHS Green Travel plan, which encourages the use of public transport, walking and cycling to work. Accordingly Conference agrees to 1)Support the NHS Environmental travel plans 2)Calls for a ring fencing of a percentage of car parking for the use of showers, changing facilities and safe bicycle storage […]

ZERO TOLERANCE IN CRITICAL CARE AREAS

This Conference asks the Service Group Executive to mount national action to drive forward the Zero Tolerance campaign of no verbal abuse, aggression or unacceptable behaviour towards healthcare staff. Conference is particularly concerned at the growing problem of aggression from visitors to frontline staff such as bedside nurses working in clinical areas in High Dependency, […]

NO CUTS – KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC

Conference notes with deep concern the scale of cuts inflicted on the NHS, particularly over the last two years, with reports of thousands of job losses, and the closure of wards, departments and threats to close whole hospitals in many parts of the country. Conference also notes the powerful local public resistance to these cuts, […]

FUND THE NHS NOT WAR AND WEAPONS

This Conference notes that the government has spent thousands of millions of pounds on the war and occupation in Iraq, and is now considering spending further millions on renewing the trident nuclear submarines and missiles. This is at the same time as the government is forcing NHS Trusts to cut their expenditure in order to […]

OVERSEAS NURSES

There has been much media speculation of late that overseas nurses will be barred from employment in an attempt to help home grown candidates. This speculation is surprising given that the UK has been in a dilemma for a number of years owing to the massive shortage of qualified specialist nurses. Indeed, the government has […]

HEALTH CARE ASSISTANTS REGISTRATION AND TRAINING

Conference notes UNISON’s campaign for Healthcare Assistants to be regulated, and the outcome of our consultation identified their wish to be regulated by the Health Professions Council. However, Conference also notes with strong concern that training for HCAs has been cut back in many areas as a result of the financial crisis, caused by the […]

NATIONAL AMBULANCE PARTNERSHIP FORUM

Conference welcomes the creation of the National Ambulance Partnership Forum and notes that it has been set up to: 1.Provide a means to communicate and share a common understanding of the transformational national agenda facing ambulance services in light of: §‘Taking Healthcare to the Patient’ – service delivery, workforce developments, education & training; §The changing […]

KEEP THE NHS WORKING

This conference welcomes the establishment of the TUC and non-TUC Health Trade Unions ‘NHS Together’ campaign which in conjunction with the UNISON ‘Say YES to 5 Healthier Options’ campaign provides a campaigning strategy to keep the NHS working in the public sector. This conference supports and applauds the leadership role provided by UNISON’s Healthcare Service […]

THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHERE TO DIE

Around 64% of people would choose to die at home if they had a terminal illness and yet a little over 20% actually do so. In fact, 56% of people die in hospital, though that is the preference of only 11% of the population. Clearly, the healthcare system is failing to meet patients’ wishes in […]

PRIMARY CARE

Conference notes the current trend in government policy towards shifting the balance of health care provision towards primary care and away from acute sector provision. Conference reaffirms its opposition to the continued move towards increasing contestability and fragmentation in the provision of primary care services. Conference believes that this move will lead to a poorer […]