Breast Cancer Screening Challenge Campaign

Conference is concerned at the ever-increasing number of women suffering from breast cancer and the postcode lottery of treatment and survival rates that still operate throughout the United Kingdom and blights women’s lives. This Conference is concerned that women living in rural areas/small towns are only invited for breast cancer screening when the mobile unit […]

Nursing Students

The nursing sector welcomes the work that UNISON has done over the last 3 years to raise awareness on issues which effect-nursing students: specifically our campaign to return student nurses and midwives to salary and employment status. Whilst we recognise that entry figures are up in nurse diploma courses we believe that even more significant […]

Health Workers and Violence

This Conference believes that it is unacceptable for NHS staff to go to work and to be exposed to unnecessary risks of violence. Conference welcomes the Scottish Health Committee’s Zero Tolerance Campaign against NHS staff being assaulted at work. In particular Conference notes the 6 point action plan: 1.The Scottish Health Minister and NHS trade […]

Tackling Racism

The Health Group Executive notes the NEC commissioned, 2001 and 2002 Labour Research Department reports of surveys into action by employers and Unison branches on tackling institutionalised racism since the publication of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report in February 1999. Conference notes the disappointing response to the questionnaire which could indicate that racism is not […]

Electronic Staff Records

This Conference notes that, as part of its National Shared Services Initiative. The Department of Health is in the process of developing a new national payroll and electronic staff records system (ESR). This new system is intended to replace existing payroll and staff records systems currently used by all NHS employers and so manage and […]

The Changing Workforce Programme

The modernisation of the NHS is constantly bringing about new challenges for UNISON, its branch representatives and membership. One such challenge is the Workforce Development Programme and the rapid move to changing roles of all staff in the NHS and indeed, Social Care. PMS pilots, Walk in Centres, NHS Direct and numerous specialist diagnostic and […]

Membership Representation

Conference notes that negotiations on the final package for pay modernisation in the NHS are nearing conclusion. If the new pay system is accepted by UNISON members the current national sector structure which was designed to accommodate Whitley will no longer be relevant. Therefore the SGE should as an urgent priority: 1)Seek the views of […]

Operating Department Practitioner Bursuries

Conference notes the Department of Health decision to introduce bursaries for ODP trainees. We believe this is a retrograde step, which adversely affects recruitment at a time of acute staff shortages and when Ministers are seeking an increase in ODP numbers. The introduction of bursaries radically cuts the incomes of students and removes their employment […]

NHS Individual Learning Accounts and Contracted Staffs Access

In recent years the government as part of its life long learning initiative introduced NHS individual learning accounts. These accounts are available to any NHS employee who does not hold a relevant professional work related qualification. The account is worth £150.00 and can be used to provide work-related learning. The learning opportunity can be provided […]

Temporary Injury Allowance for NHS Staff

Conference at a time when NHS staff suffer injury as a direct result of assault and are absent from work for some time, they often suffer financial detriment. At present Temporary Injury Allowance is paid @ 85% of average earnings based on the previous twelve months. This is a significant drop in earnings at a […]

Blame Culture within the NHS

Conference believes far too little has been done by the Department of Health and the devolved health departments to tackle the damaging deep-rooted “blame culture” within the Service. Despite the introduction of clinical governance the search for scapegoats often takes precedence over tackling the root causes of mistakes, and poor practice. This approach may actually […]

NHS and VAT

This conference believes that UNISON should campaign for NHS organisations to have parity with local authorities in recovery of VAT on new build projects. Local authorities are able to claim a full refund of VAT while the NHS is unable to recover a penny. This artificially enhances PFI contractors in relation to in-house NHS bids. […]

Developing an Organising Culture in Health

Conference notes that the challenges facing UNISON’s health sector have never been greater. Proposals for radical changes in pay are only the latest of a very long list of challenges we face – restructuring of employers, improving working lives, major changes in acute hospitals, mental health, and primary care, the involvement of the private sector, […]

Assaults on Ambulance Staff

This conference is extremely concerned to note the continuing and increasing incidence of assaults on Ambulance Staffs. It welcomes the Government’s zero tolerance campaign aimed at reducing violence towards NHS staffs in general, but notes that frontline Ambulance Staffs remain particularly and unacceptably vulnerable. It therefore calls for a greater degree of consistency of approach […]

Early Retirement for Ambulance Staffs

This conference notes the failure of successive Governments and NHS employers to introduce an early retirement position for frontline Ambulance staffs. It notes that nearly 70 per cent of these staffs retire by the age of 55 because of work-associated ill health and burnout. Many of these staffs are incapable of finding alternative employment as […]