NHS Pension Scheme – Ill Health Retirement

This conference notes that the NHS Pensions Agency has contracted SEMA to provide medical advice on applications for ill health retirement. Conference further notes that there has been a widespread and systematic shift away from approving ill health retirement applications with cases which would have formally been accepted, being turned down on medical grounds. SEMA […]

Organisation and Recruitment in Primary Care

Conference notes the establishment of new Primary Care organisations and the planned future expansion in Primary Care and Community Health facilities including, Primary Care Trusts holding approximately 75% of the NHS budget and taking on the role of directly providing services. Conference therefore agrees that organising in Primary Care Organisations and Community Health is a […]

Practitioners in Emergency Care (P.E.C.S)

Conference notes the introduction of P.E.C’s (Practitioners in Emergency Care). Conference also notes that: ·The present system encourages young, inexperienced graduates to become Paramedic Practitioners. This is an unsafe method of introducing additional staffing into the Ambulance Service; ·Budgetary concerns, funding and resource management issues mean that existing staff are denied the opportunity to access […]

Non-Payment of Enhancements when Nurses are Injured at Work

Following the advice we received last year regarding the non-payment of enhancements when Nurses are sick due to an injury at work. It seems that Management and Staff Side have conflicting views. We insist that the SGE raise this issue with our Legal Department and the Department of Health as a matter of urgency, so […]

National Care Standards Commission Failure to Consult

Conference welcomes the introduction of the National Care Standards Commission and the duty it has to raise standards across residential and nursing home care for people with learning disabilities and mental health illness. However, we have serious concerns about the way in which the Commission appears to have failed to consult with UNISON on a […]

Internationally Recruited Nurses

Overseas Nurses are being let down by poorly designed and ill administered adaptation courses, particularly so in the field of mental health. The lack of national standards for adaptation programmes has resulted in many agencies offering so called adaptation programmes, which do not equip the nurse with the knowledge or skills to practice at a […]