Devolution

Conference welcomes the progress made in effecting Motion 59 from Conference 2008. The Service Group Executive has established an effective sub group which has catalogued a series of recommendations to ensure with the compliance with the protocol raised in 2004 in line with Rule D 2.9.5. The Health sector has also fed into the overarching […]

Endometriosis and Women NHS Staff

It is estimated that 10-15% of women suffering gynaecological problems have endometriosis, a chronic and debilitating disease which impacts on women’s lives, causing pain, heavy periods and infertility. The majority of cases are diagnosed when women are between the ages of 25 and 40 – when they are likely to be part of the working […]

Three Tier Workforce

Conference notes with disgust that many NHS employers contract Security Services from Security firms which pay staff on the national minimum wage and/or zero hours contracts often with little continuity of base. Conference notes that it is difficult to organise successfully within these employers. Conference believes that NHS employers have a duty to ensure that […]

Subsistence and Overnight Allowances for NHS Staff

Conference passed a motion in 2006 that asked the Service Group Executive to call on the NHS Staff Council to address the lack of increase to subsistence and overnight allowances for staff. The motion requested that as a matter of urgency, they consider: i.Raising subsistence allowances to the level they would have reached if year-on-year […]

Gender Recognition – two steps forward, one step back

Conference notes that for a relatively small number of people, the gender they are assigned at birth does not match their internal sense of where they exist in relation to being female or male – their gender identity. Some transition to live permanently and completely in the gender with which they identify. Conference further notes […]

Cervical Cancer Screening for Women NHS Staff

Despite health service measures to encourage women to attend cervical cancer screening sessions, the number of women being screened has dropped significantly, with the number of women aged 25-64 dying from cervical cancer increasing by 6.4% during 2007. Research in December 2008 has also shown that there is a clear link between income and cervical […]

Fire Wardens, Risk Assessors and Health & Safety Representatives

This conference believes that a safe working environment is a right for everyone. There is a requirement under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health & Safety at Work Act 2003 and the Fire Scotland Act 2005 for employers to provide adequate resources to ensure that the workplace has taken […]

Nursing and Health Care Internationalism

Conference notes the incredibly moving contribution last year from Dorothy Ngoma, of the National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi: an organisation set up with the support of UNISON. The hardships faced by our colleagues in health care in the developing world and the patients they serve are immense, complicated, saddening but avoidable with […]

Keep the NHS Working

Conference notes that under the banner of Keep the NHS Working UNISON continues to campaign against the damaging effects caused by the marketisation of NHS services and the growing role of the private sector in delivering healthcare. This is particularly important at a time of global financial crisis where governments across the world have been […]

Pay, Terms and Conditions

Conference notes that across the UK, Health workers are experiencing the effects of changes to the funding and organisation of the NHS and the structures for delivering healthcare. There are increasing differences in the way in which the four UK administrations choose to organise health care and in England there is increasing use of the […]

Organising Approaches in the NHS

Conference notes the recent pilot organising project in the Greater London Region and congratulates the region on their work to encourage different and innovative approaches to organising health workers. Conference notes that the project, based on the model used by the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, highlighted the dedication of health workers to […]

Travel to Work

UNISON recognises the importance of all organisations playing their part in reducing the carbon footprint. Conference in particular notes and applauds UNISON’s “Greening the Workplace” campaign and in particular its work in promoting greener staff travel plans. UNISON notes the ·NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy and its commitment to reduce its emissions by 60 per cent […]

Nursing’s Public Image

Conference notes that some commentators have this year argued that the public has lost confidence in nurses, even to the point of suggesting that nursing has lost its way. These sentiments, if left unchallenged, are likely to taint policy developments, such as the Next Steps Review and associated activity to develop metrics to better evaluate […]

Implementation of Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review

Conference notes that in July 2008, the government set out its vision for the NHS in England over the next 10 years in Lord Darzi’s ‘High Quality Care for All.’ This was published alongside a draft NHS Constitution and a staff document entitled A High Quality Workforce. Conference welcomes the positive aspects of the review […]

BNP Policy is incompatible with Nursing

Conference notes the threats to democracy and civil harmony posed by the posturing and mantra of the racist British National Party (BNP.) Membership of the BNP is wholly incompatible with public service, and this is especially so for Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors who have a unique role in caring for vulnerable people on a […]