COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR HEALTH BRANCHES

Conference notes the interest in reciprocal community unionism within UNISON and at the fringe meeting at last year’s health conference. Internationally, it has been persuasively argued that trade unions face a legitimacy crisis. There is a pressing need for our union to project an identity and mission that has an impact in communities beyond our […]

SECURITY AND PRIVACY IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

This Conference demands that the Service Group Executive approach NHS Employers for the purpose of negotiating an NHS wide policy agreement on Security and Privacy of Information Technology to include best practice guidance on access to employees’ data respecting privacy and ending cavalier practices within IT departments. UNISON to provide training programs to ensure branches […]

A MANIFESTO FOR NURSING AND MIDWIFERY

This Conference notes the increasing challenges facing the nursing and midwifery family workforce. Following the Darzi Review nurses are being subjected to increasing scrutiny. They are expected to demonstrate their contribution to patient and service-level outcomes, using yet to be fully determined metrics, which are based mainly on the negative elements of care for example […]

CUTS TO THERAPY SERVICES A FALSE ECONOMY

Conference notes that in the current financial climate many NHS organisations are not taking into account the valuable role therapy services play in delivering efficient, cost-effective and patient-centred services. Many NHS organisations need to make significant financial savings, causing them to cut therapy services and freeze vacant posts. This short-sighted approach fails to recognise the […]

REDEPLOYMENT AND ILL HEALTH RETIREMENT

Conference notes the changes to the NHS pension scheme and ill Health Retirement arrangements that have been in place since April 2008. Conference also notes there have been no extra groups of special classes for many years in the scheme, the last being Mental Health Officer status even though front line ambulance staff have campaigned […]

DISABLED WORKERS AND DISCRIMINATION IN REDUNDANCY PROCEDURES

This Conference is concerned that government’s solution to the current recession is through cutting funding to health services is having a negative disproportionate impact on disabled employees. The evidence from the Disabled Members Self Organised Group is that disabled health staff are more vulnerable with regards to redundancy and employers are using false competency measures […]

SKILL MIX

Conference notes the importance of skill mix throughout the NHS workforce and by developing good workforce planning in Nursing and Allied Health Professional Services which delivers better, flexible patient care. However, replacing Bands 5, 6 and 7 Nursing and Allied Health Professional staff with Band 3-5 Clinical Support Worker, to reduce costs will only put […]

END PFI NOW

Conference notes that by the financial year 2013/14 the total amount of money to be repaid by NHS Trusts to PFI consortia will be £2.3 billion a year, with a total debt of £90 billion over the duration of the schemes. This increased pressure on valuable NHS resources will come at a time when the […]

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE BOARD

The Bury St Edmunds & District Health Branch of UNISON applauds NHS Bedfordshire for balloting its staff on their proposal to set up a Social Enterprise Board. NHS Bedfordshire needed 51% in favour of the proposal, but the staff had other ideas and responded with a magnificent 97% vote against, in a 98% turnout. Conference […]

DISABLED HEALTH WORKERS AND REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS

This Conference is concerned to learn from the Disabled Members Self Organised Group that inappropriate attendance management policies and lack of understanding about legal duties under the Disability Discrimination Act to provide reasonable adjustments by the employer is resulting in disability discrimination against disabled members. In particular we are concerned that discrimination is leading to […]

REVIEW OF ON CALL

The last part of the UK negotiations on Agenda For Change is the review of on-call payments. Since 2004 there has been a difficult situation of protected local and Whitley agreements sitting alongside the Agenda For Change Scheme which provide for a wide range of differing payments. Discontent around this issue among many frontline staff […]

CAMPAIGN FOR HEALTH CARE ASSISTANTS

The National Nursing Sector recognises the unique and valuable contribution which healthcare assistants and all of their differing job titles, make to patient care. You are an essential part of the nursing team. However it has been clear for some time that a small number of organisations are expecting more and more commitment from Health […]

SICKNESS ABSENCE AND THE NURSING & MIDWIFERY FAMILY WORKFORCE

This Conference notes the excellent work of UNISON’s Health & Safety unit including its guidance on compliance of sickness absence agreements with current legislation, including the Disability Discrimination Act, based on research by the Bradford University School of Management. However Conference notes that there appears to be a growing trend towards dismissals due to an […]

RE-TENDERING CONTRACTS BASED ON BEST VALUE

Would ask the SGE to re-affirm it’s commitment in opposing the so – called re-tendering of contracts dressed up as best practises as it is divisive, it impacts on a range of issues. 1)Staff being transferred or TUPE’d, which opens up an array of problems. Like work bases and conditions of service. 2)If the bid […]

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Conference notes the findings of the Boorman Review including: ·The large number of staff that continue to attend work while feeling unwell; ·The connection between staff health & wellbeing and standards of care; ·The connections between staff health & wellbeing and the public health agenda; ·The importance of investing in high quality occupational health services; […]