UNISON has long been concerned with inadequate staffing levels on hospital wards leading to compromised patient care. This was borne out in the Francis Inquiry and Keogh reports. The shortages of Registered Nursing Staff, appropriate skill mix and overall staffing levels to carry out the fundamental care of patients is now at crisis levels. Despite […]
Conference motions
Conference believes that since the election of the Tory-led coalition, the remit issued by the Government to the Pay Review Body (PRB) each year has been so restrictive as to remove any genuinely independent process from establishing NHS Pay. In effect each of the remits has purely asked the PRB to recommend how the Government’s […]
Community Stewards: Training and Support, Negotiating, Bargaining and Facility Time Conference recognises that trained stewards are vital to the success of building and recruiting strong UNISON membership within the community sector and to ensure that its membership is fully able to represent its members. Also many groups of workers in the Community Service Group are […]
UNISON research into zero hours contracts shows that more than 40% of care workers are on these contracts. Activists are reporting that more employers are using zero hours contracts more widely across the NHS. This also includes operational service staff. Zero hours contracts are imbalanced and the employer reaps all the benefits. Members are asked […]
Our NHS is facing the biggest threats in its 65 year history. The impact of the Health and Social Care Act is being felt across all four countries and austerity measures, reorganisations, funding cuts and freezes that are being imposed by the Westminster Government has led to increasing fragmentation of health services. Since 2013 when […]
Conference proposes that UNISON campaigns to bring front line ambulance workers pension retirement age in line with other emergency workers. Front line ambulance staff are soon to be expected to work until they are 67 years old, this is unrealistic bearing in mind the arduous and unpredictable nature of the work. Shift work and long […]
Conference notes with alarm that the downbanding of NHS workers’, jobs has increased nationwide as more and more Trusts come under financial pressure. The downbandings may take place under the guise of service or skill mix reviews but in reality they are most likely to result in workers doing the same job for less pay. […]
Conference notes with concern the negative impact job re-design and privatisation is having on career pathways in the ambulance service. The increased use of private ambulance companies in the provision of patient transport services (PTS) has seen significant numbers of UNISON members being transferred outside of the NHS. Not only does this represent a threat […]
The current pilot arrangements for aspiring student nurses to experience 12 months work in an HCA role are a knee jerk response to the Francis Report, and fail to fully take account of current experiential learning which many students experience prior to commencing their formal studies. UNISON fully supports the principle of widening participation and […]
National guidelines state that at least 75% of the most serious Category ‘A’ 999 calls should be responded to within eight minutes (Red 1 target). But less than half of trusts are able to meet their target to reach the most critically ill patients within this time. These delays are caused by a range of […]
At the public launch of the World Health Organisation Europe Report on health inequalities in 2013, internationally acclaimed Chairperson, Professor Michael Marmot stated that, “The Conservative-led Coalition government uses the word ‘fairness’ as if it has no meaning at all. They cut the top rate of tax – and they call it ‘fair’. They cut […]
Following the publishing of the Francis, Keogh and Berwick reports into Mid Staffs it has become abundantly clear that much of the failures were organisational in nature. Further, that these failings in part were condoned by very senior and executive staff within that organisation. Clearly, the Government shows some recognition of the organisational failures within […]
Conference notes that the integration of health and social care has become a key debate in the NHS across the UK over the past year. Conference notes that although only Northern Ireland has full structural integration of health and social care, governing parties from all political persuasions are pursuing integration policies in Scotland, Wales and […]
Conference notes the hard work of the union in campaigning and working in partnership with NHS employers, the Department of Health, Skills for Health to improve training and make development opportunities available for NHS staff, particularly staff on lower bands, have paid off. Last year through partnership working the Social Partnership Forum Learning for Life […]
Conference notes that mental health accounts for 23% of the total burden of disease, yet receives only 13% of NHS health expenditure. It is predictable that in a recession, demand for mental health services rises, as the impact of austerity and welfare reforms, rising unemployment and increase in cost of living has a detrimental impact […]