Search tagged Christina McAnea

Let’s work together to make this new hospital a success,” general secretary Dave Prentis said as he opened a new UNISON shop in Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

An analysis published today (Monday) by the Health Service Journal, which found that nine in ten hospitals in England are failing to meet their own safe staffing targets for the number of nurses on wards, will come as no great surprise to staff, says UNISON. Commenting on the findings UNISON head of health Christina McAnea […]

Commenting on the BBC story on the high number of vacant posts in the NHS, UNISON Head of Health Christina McAnea said: “Cutting vital nursing jobs in a bid to save money is a false economy. As a result, the NHS now has to spend huge amounts of money on agency staff to ensure patient […]

Commenting on the announcement today (Tuesday) from NHS Pay Review Body of its proposals on pay for 2016/17, UNISON Head of Health Christina McAnea said: “It’s disappointing for NHS workers that the PRB has stuck to the artificial one per cent pay freeze imposed by the Chancellor. “Government pay policies since 2010 have seen most […]

The decision by the NHS Pensions Board to refer Oxleas NHS Trust to the pension regulator has been welcomed by UNISON. The Board has taken this formal action in response to the South East London Trust offering nurses who opt out of the NHS pension a higher salary. UNISON’s Head of Health Christina McAnea said: […]

Many hospitals are treating apprentices as cheap labour by routinely paying them the minimum wage, even though they often do exactly the same jobs as colleagues earning considerably more, according to a UNISON report published today (Sunday). More than a third of employers across the NHS are hiring apprentices at the statutory minimum of £3.30 […]

Safe staffing levels across the NHS have worsened significantly in the last year, according to UNISON’s UK-wide annual survey of nursing professionals published today (Monday), at the start of its annual health conference in Brighton. The 2016 survey, conducted on Tuesday 9 February, found that almost two-thirds – 63%, up from 45% the previous year […]

UNISON health conference debate sees passionate commitment to campaign to defend Agenda for Change and improve it

The government should continue to pay for the training of student nurses and midwives, and not force NHS trainees to fund their degrees with loans, according to a new survey published today (Friday) by UNISON. More than three-quarters (77%) of voters who took part in the YouGov survey believe the government must carry on paying […]

Government must do more to reassure EU health workers post-Brexit, says UNISON EU health staff employed in the UK need guarantees from the government that their jobs and futures are not under threat, UNISON said today (Tuesday). The referendum result has triggered huge uncertainty among the tens of thousands of workers from Europe who make […]

UNISON has today (Thursday) welcomed the decision by NHS England to shut the Strategic Projects Team (SPT) consultancy. The union has called on the government to learn from mistakes made by the consultants in the past, and reverse the trend towards NHS privatisation. UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “The SPT has been associated […]

Wednesday 12 October 2016 For immediate release Nursing associates should not be nurses on the cheap, says UNISON Responding to the announcement today (Wednesday) by Health Education England that more than 2,000 people will be trained as nursing associates over the coming months, UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “These new roles could help […]

Thursday 27 October 2016 Hard-pressed health service staff are turning to high-rate loans, pawning their belongings and visiting food banks as they struggle just to make ends meet, according to research by UNISON. Financial hardship has led to almost half (49%) of those who took part in a major survey to seek financial help from […]

NHS staff across the country are being asked to record nurse-to-patient ratios on their wards for UNISON’s sixth annual survey into safe staffing levels. The survey findings will provide a snapshot of conditions in hospitals for staff and patients over 24 hours on Tuesday 7 February. The NHS is currently facing unprecedented pressures and the […]

Commenting on the announcement today (Tuesday) from the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) of its proposals for 2017/18, Christina McAnea, the spokesperson for unions representing staff working in the NHS, and head of health at UNISON, said: “This deal amounts to less than £5 a week for most midwives, nurses, cleaners, paramedics, radiographers and other healthcare staff. “It’s a derisory […]