Topic: "Sell-Off" - The Abolition of Your NHS

[Welshred]

Had 190 emails this morning. 400 shite emails in all.

[hide5seek]

Full steam ahead.....c*nts.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ae-cancer-maternity-units-closure-nhs-modernisation-plans-a7426381.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nhs-privatisation-charges-professionals-in-house-agency-a7426966.html

[macca007]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/06/nhs-crisis-winter-deaths-worcestershire-private-sector?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Facebook

I'm a junior doctor in the NHS, and I'm terrified for this winter
Aislinn Macklin-Doherty

The deaths in Worcestershire are tragically no surprise. Decades of reshuffling, top-down disorganisation, and now private sector demands have hammered the NHS, and it can barely cope any more

 ‘Our leaders are spending less year-on-year on healthcare than at any other time in NHS history.’ Photograph: Alamy
Friday 6 January 2017 15.19 GMT Last modified on Friday 6 January 2017 20.10 GMT

Widespread concerns that the NHS will face the “toughest winter ever” are not exaggerated or unfounded – just look at the terrible news today from Worcestershire. We really should be worried for ourselves and our relatives. As a junior doctor and a researcher looking after cancer patients in the NHS, I am terrified by the prospect of what the next few months will bring. But we must not forget this is entirely preventable.

Our current crisis is down to the almost clockwork-like series of reshuffling, rebranding and top-down disorganisation of the services by government. It’s led to an inexorable decline in the quality of care.

I have also become aware of an insidious “takeover” by the private sector. It is both literal – in the provision of services – and ideological, with an overwhelming prevalence of business-speak being absorbed into our collective psyche. But the British public (and even many staff) remain largely unaware that this is happening.

Where the consultant physician or surgeon was once general, they now increasingly play second fiddle to chief executives and clinical business unit managers. Junior doctors such as myself (many of whom have spent 10-15 years practising medicine and have completed PhDs) must also fall in line to comply with business models and corporate strategy put forward by those with no clinical training or experience with patients.

With bad policies accumulating over the years, we are now seeing the crisis come to a climax
It is this type of decision-making (based on little evidence) and seemingly unaccountable policymaking that means patient care is suffering. Blame cannot be laid at the feet of a population of demanding and ageing patients, nor the “health tourists” who are too often scapegoated.

The epitome of such changes is known as the “sustainability and transformation plans”. These will bring about some of the biggest shifts in how NHS frontline service are funded and run in recent history, and yet, worryingly, most of my own colleagues have not even heard of them. Even fewer feel able to influence them.


Sustainability and transformation plans will see almost a third of regions having an A&E closed or downgraded, and nearly half will see numbers of inpatient bed reductions. This is all part of the overarching five-year plan to drive through £22bn in efficiency savings in the NHS. But with overwhelming cuts in social services and community care and with GPs under immense pressure, people are forced to go to A&E because they quite simply do not have any other options.

I have been on the phone with patients with cancer who need to come into hospital with life-threatening conditions such as sepsis, and I have been forced to tell them, “We have no beds here you need to go to another local A&E.” Responses such as, “Please doctor don’t make me go there – last time there were people backed up down the corridors,” break my heart.

According to the Kings Fund, our NHS leaders are choosing to spend less year-on-year on healthcare (as a proportion of GDP) than at any other time in NHS history and yet we are the fifth richest economy in the world. Simultaneously private sector involvement increases and astronomical interest rates from private finance initiatives must be paid, with hospitals such as St Bartholomew’s in London having to pay up to £2m per week in interest alone. No wonder nearly all hospitals are now in dire straits.

This is all the result of intentional policies being made at the top with minimal consultation of those on the frontline. With such policies accumulating over the years we are now seeing the crisis come to a climax. The UK has fewer beds per person and fewer doctors per person than most countries in Europe. Fewer ambulances are now able to reach the highest-category emergencies, which means people having asthma attacks, heart attacks and traffic accidents are being left to wait longer in situations where minutes really matter.

The sustainability and transformation plans for my local area in south-west London show that they plan to cut 44% of inpatient bed stays over the next four years . This is dangerous. It is likely that St Helier hospital in Sutton, which takes many emergencies in the area, will close and patients will then not only have access to critically reduced services, they will then have to travel longer to hospital, having waited longer for the ambulance to get to them.

This will be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I cannot stand by while patients’ lives are put at unnecessary risk this winter. And neither should you.

• Health Campaigns Together and the People’s Assembly are organising a national demonstration in support of the NHS on 4 March 2017. I would urge everyone who cares about their families and their own future to get out on to the street and start demanding that better decisions are made on all our behalf.

[TheShanklyGates]

Talk of a humanitarian crisis in NHS hospitals. A humanitarian crisis, in England, in 2017. It's nothing short of evil what the Tories are doing to our health service.

[Fat Scouser]

Talk of a humanitarian crisis in NHS hospitals. A humanitarian crisis, in England, in 2017. It's nothing short of evil what the Tories are doing to our health service.

It's actually criminal mate. They should be in the dock. But make no mistake, at least half of the PLP should be stood next to them.

Since the day it was launched against all Tory efforts to stop it, the NHS has been under attack. You can see they're MO. It's transparent... nip a bit, stand back, wait, nip again when the times right, slowly slyly, nip, nip, nip, till there's nothing left.

It's the MO they use whatever the target. But until Blair there was always people willing to fight and block them. The introduction of PFI by Blair was the begging of the end. Like us, the people, the NHS is now in debt that it can never pay off.

Say these things, you will be laughed at and mocked. But fact is, it's fact. Not conspiracy theory, criminal conspiracy by the Financial/Corporate system.

The burglers were handed the keys to the safe, by the criminals that write the laws.

[Welshred]

I'm close to calling it quits with the NHS. Going into the private sector is just more attractive to me, especially if it's with a good company. Our 'target' is to see 80% of new patient referrals within 6 weeks. We're currently at around 50% at the moment and we're being told we're a failing service. We see patients back to back, we don't get any breaks, we don't get any admin breaks and we have to stay behind to finish off discharge letters and notes that have to be completed within 24 hours. Yet we're told we're failing. We had a staff meeting on Wednesday and we were asked of ways we could think of to reduce our waiting list, I don't think my reply of "get the commissioners to stump up the cash for adequate staffing levels or set us realistic targets because nothing else is going to get us anywhere near 80%" was appreciated...

[zebenzui]

The burglers were handed the keys to the safe, by the criminals that write the laws.

This can be applied far too universally for me to have hope for the future.

[jason67]

This can be applied far too universally for me to have hope for the future.

And the worrying thing is for me I don't see how it can be stopped.

[Fat Scouser]

And the worrying thing is for me I don't see how it can be stopped.

Easy Jason, mate. We all just say no, and don't do a hands turn till things change. It would change in the morning. Fact; all revolutions were started by 3% of the population. Find the rest of them, and I'm in.

[TepidT2O]

Talk of a humanitarian crisis in NHS hospitals. A humanitarian crisis, in England, in 2017. It's nothing short of evil what the Tories are doing to our health service.

Oh there's a way to go yet....

We've forgotten what it was like in the 80s...

(Don't take this as an endorsement of the current government btw.  Just that we have further still to fall).

[TepidT2O]

But this is not the 80's is it? Or the 50's or 30's? Haven't we progressed since then?

Oh yes, we have....

Remember waiting in coridoors  was normal, waiting years for life changing operations was normal....

They didn't need to happen in the 80s either, but they did, because no one in government gave a fuck. It can happen again...

[Trada]

Dr David Wrigley ‏@DavidGWrigley

Quite unbelievable. Hunt says he will 'release GPs for A&E work' -like we're twiddling our thumbs & have our feet up. Get a grip! #NHSCrisis

[macca007]

Dr David Wrigley ‏@DavidGWrigley

Quite unbelievable. Hunt says he will 'release GPs for A&E work' -like we're twiddling our thumbs & have our feet up. Get a grip! #NHSCrisis

Half the fucking problem is people feel they can't see there fucking gp's so go to a&e like its a fucking referral service.

[CornerFlag]

When does the £35k salary limit for immigrant nurses kick in?  Because if you thought the system was fucked now...

[TepidT2O]

Dr David Wrigley ‏@DavidGWrigley

Quite unbelievable. Hunt says he will 'release GPs for A&E work' -like we're twiddling our thumbs & have our feet up. Get a grip! #NHSCrisis

Big problem here is that GPs aren't trained for A&E work, and don't have the time or inclination to do it....

Now, they could pick up the slack that doesn't need to go to A&E, for example, minor operations like stitching, removing moles etc but GPs are General by their very nature... not generally experts in emergency care

[TepidT2O]

When does the £35k salary limit for immigrant nurses kick in?  Because if you thought the system was fucked now...

I'm not really sure how many nurses that will actually effect.

Given that my sister does operations herself and doesn't get paid that I suspect not many (maybe the majority would be in London though)

[Welshred]

I'm not really sure how many nurses that will actually effect.

Given that my sister does operations herself and doesn't get paid that I suspect not many (maybe the majority would be in London though)

Yeh that won't affect that many. Band 5 nurses will get around £21k a year (£25k in London) and the only way they'd go over £35k a year would be if you were a band 7 in the job for several years or in management as a band 8a. So it won't actually affect that many.

[macca007]

Big problem here is that GPs aren't trained for A&E work, and don't have the time or inclination to do it....

Now, they could pick up the slack that doesn't need to go to A&E, for example, minor operations like stitching, removing moles etc but GPs are General by their very nature... not generally experts in emergency care

There''s a lot of people who attend a&e though who should be seeing a gp.  So many people go for 2 week coughs so it would free up the a&e staff to concentrate on what they should be but it still takes the gp away from theit roles so just diverts attention.

Would probably encourage people to attend a&e who should be seeing the gp

[macca007]

https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/views-from-the-nhs-frontline/2017/jan/09/this-isnt-a-freak-day-this-is-winter-in-the-nhs?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Facebook

This isn’t a freak day – this is winter in the NHS
I’m not giving patients the care I want to but what can I do when there are others that could die in corridors?

It is the day after the New Year weekend. People all over the country are dusting off the last of the mince pie crumbs and dragging themselves painfully back to work. Offices are re-opening, schools filling up for the first time in a few weeks.

Not here. We never closed. We arrive in work – business as usual once again, but the ambulances are already queuing around the drive to A&E. Eight in the morning and the department is full.

I walk through the ambulatory care centre. Usually it’s a day unit for patients that need blood tests or routine investigations – but overnight it has become a makeshift ward because the hospital is bursting to capacity. The day-centre managers are unhappy because there is nowhere for the day-case patients to be seen now. The bed manager from the night shift looks exhausted, and explains she had a choice between blocking up the unit or leaving five elderly, frail ladies in a cold hospital corridor all night long. She can’t win. None of us can.

The morning progresses. Men in suits with clipboards walk the corridors, their faces reflecting the futility of their assignment. Their task: to move patients from A&E to the medical and surgical wards upstairs. But there are no beds upstairs. There are no beds anywhere.

My colleagues look how I feel: exhausted. ​​Some will go home and weep tonight.
The shift continues but the ambulances do not stop coming. Sepsis. Seizures. Overdoses. Haemorrhages. These aren’t patients in the wrong place or patients abusing the system – these people are exactly where they should be – but there isn’t the spaceanywhere to put them.

Another sick patient arrives, he needs urgent resuscitation, but the resuscitation bays are full. Some quick juggling by the A&E sister and a patient moves to a corridor to allow the acutely sick patient to get his treatment. He’s stabilised, but the seams of the department are creaking now.

The silver and gold command managers are doing everything they can to create room – they ask if we can divert our ambulances to another hospital to ease the pressure, but the answer is no. All the surrounding hospitals are in exactly the same situation. This isn’t a freak day for our area, this is winter in the NHS.

More time passes and more ambulances arrive. We see as many as we can. Antibiotics. Fluids. Pain relief. Tea. Hold a hand. Reassure. Write something in the notes. Move on. There are doctors seeing patients in corridors. At medical school we do not get lessons in how to examine a woman’s abdomen in a busy walkway while still maintaining her privacy, but we muddle through, and the patients couldn’t be more understanding and are just happy to be receiving care without having to wait even longer. Most have been here for hours already, and haven’t even seen a doctor yet.

Another ambulance arrives. The crew report that the patient is very sick, but there is no room inside. A doctor rushes into the back of the ambulance, makes a quick assessment, and sends them to a neighbouring hospital that has the specialist surgeons to save this patient’s life. I hear one doctor remark that she’s never seen the hospital as busy as this. A consultant rushes past and quips with a grimace that he unfortunately has.

The chaos escalates into the afternoon. The medical director – the chief physician – is marching through A&E, through the hospital, trying to send patients home where he can. We discharge patients that, were this a quiet week in June, would most certainly stay an extra night or two for observation and rehabilitation. We cannot afford them this time now. It isn’t the ideal care we want to give. But when there are other patients that could otherwise die in the corridors before we get to them, what else can we do?

My colleagues look how I feel: exhausted. Some will go home and weep tonight. They’ll tell their husbands or their wives that this isn’t what they signed up for. They wanted to help people, to be doctors, nurses, physiotherapists or pharmacists. But how can you help people properly in a broken system?

Elsewhere, the children are rolling out of school. Offices close for the day, as people trudge home, weary from their first day back at work after Christmas. They are oblivious to the pandemonium ensuing inside our hospital, and many others like it up and down the country. The government will continue to deny the truth: that our healthcare system is desperately underfunded. It is understaffed. It is becoming unsafe, to the point where the Red Cross is declaring a humanitarian crisis. We spend less on healthcare than most of our neighbours in Europe. We have fewer doctors than most of our neighbours in Europe. We tried to tell the government. We went on strike. We wrote newspaper articles. We went on television. We met our MPs. We marched. We sang. We released a music single.

But instead of listening, the government silenced us. Drowned us out. Dismissed us. Vilified us. Ignored us. Jeremy C*nt will make another visit to a hospital. He’ll give a nice sound bite about what a sterling job everyone is doing, along with a warped half-lie about how they have increased NHS funding to help ease the pressure. He’ll pose for a photograph with us. We’ll smile serenely. Everything is under control. Right?

[pyroparty]

Has anyone watched hospital yet? Not sure I can bring myself too after reading about it especially with a mum reliant on the NHS. I cannot express how much I loathe this government and the fucking c*nts who vote for them. This other bitch gets an easy ride for being utterly useless too. Bastards.

[Trada]

[Trada]

[Trada]

Just because its true.

Joe Public
‏@jpublik

We've gone from £350m a week to NHS to now NHS being on the table for negotiations for a trade deal with US

[Medellin]

Has anyone watched hospital yet? Not sure I can bring myself too after reading about it especially with a mum reliant on the NHS. I cannot express how much I loathe this government and the fucking c*nts who vote for them. This other bitch gets an easy ride for being utterly useless too. Bastards.

A real eye opener.
Shocking how patients are 'treated' who desperately need life saving surgery etc & are getting their appointments/surgery cancelled because of a lack of beds on wards & ICU.
Fucking disgraceful.
The government is neglecting and failing its people & don't give 2 fucks about it.

*I read an article recently about a guy who was jailed for watching a woman drown/not helping her.
Same sorta shit going on in a professional level every day in the NHS.
Manslaughter!

[Mr F]

This is insane...

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/02/nhs-cash-crisis-in-kent-halts-non-urgent-surgery-until-april

[RedGlen]

I'm not really sure how many nurses that will actually effect.

Given that my sister does operations herself and doesn't get paid that I suspect not many (maybe the majority would be in London though)

Is it not the other way about? Non EU migrants who earn less than £35k? Either way, nurses are exempt from this but that may change if we no longer have a shortage of nurses (unlikely - I'm a student nurse in Scotland, and figures are showing that the bursary changes down south have put quite a few people off applying. Evidence https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/education/nursing-degree-applicants-fall-23-in-wake-of-bursary-loss/7015313.article?blocktitle=Nursing-course-applications-down&contentID=25167 ).

[HarryLabrador]

Fears of 'two-tier NHS' as GPs allow fee-paying patients to jump the queue

MPs claim Dorset Private GP service, at up to £145 per appointment, will mean NHS patients without money will wait even longer for care
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Wednesday 8 February 2017 19.48 GMT Last modified on Thursday 9 February 2017 00.30 GMT
Family doctors in Bournemouth have set up the first private GP service at which people who pay up to £145 a time will be seen faster and get longer appointments than their NHS patients.

The creation of the clinic has prompted fears that other GPs will follow suit and that NHS patients will become “second-class citizens” as general practice increasingly becomes a two-tier health service.

The three doctors running the Dorset Private GP service are offering “the unhurried, thorough, personal care we believe is best for patients” – at a price. Patients pay £40 for a 10-minute phone consultation, £80 for a 20-minute face-to-face appointment and £145 for 40 minutes with a GP.

“With the NHS sometimes struggling to offer a quality service now is the time to choose a private doctor,” according to the website for the trio’s venture. They offer times that suit patients and the chance to see the same GP at each visit, benefits that few NHS patients are offered any more because of the heavy and growing pressures on family doctor surgeries.

Those who pay receive their appointment at the same Poole Road Medical Centre in Bournemouth where the GPs see the NHS patients on their practice list. However, private patients in effect jump the queue to be seen as they can get appointments on the day, whereas ordinary patients can wait up to four weeks for an appointment lasting just seven minutes.

GPs are barred under the terms of their contract from offering private medical services to patients on their practice list. However, the Dorset Private GP service is not breaking any rules because it is only offering the service to other people.

“This looks like the thin end of the wedge. There are really worrying signs that a two-tier NHS is emerging under Theresa May’s leadership,” said Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health secretary.

“The relentless underfunding of healthcare has meant that practitioners in many parts of the country are struggling to keep the service going, but the news that private patients are being offered the chance to skip the queue comes as a real shock.”

Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, warned that the service risked opening up a divide between those who can and cannot afford to pay upfront charges for healthcare.

“We are also witnessing increasing numbers of people, who have the resources to do so, opting out of the NHS to fast-track treatment. The inevitable result will be a two-tier system. Those without money will just be left waiting longer for care.

“There will be a great temptation for some GPs involved to prioritise private work over NHS work. This would lead to NHS patients being treated as second-class citizens,” he added.

Dr Tim Alder, the main GP behind the scheme, defended the setting-up of the service and warned that NHS general practice was on “the brink of collapse” and heading for privatisation because it was underfunded, facing a serious staff shortage and unable to cope with demand.

“Five years ago there would be far more people saying ‘how dare you do this to the NHS’ and ‘you’re causing it to fall apart by doing this’, rather than the other way around. But now most people understand why and are quite interested. They see it as an option for the future themselves,” Alder told the Southern Daily Echo.

“I’d love to be able to say ‘you can have 20 minutes with me on the NHS’, but that is not going to happen until we have twice as many GPs. We certainly won’t be using NHS resources, we’ll use ours, which means if we do this in NHS time, we’ll find cover for that,” he added.

Alder predicted that NHS underfunding of general practice and the takeover of surgeries by private firms such as Virgin Care could lead to GP surgeries – which are private businesses and not controlled by the NHS – charging all patients.

“Sadly the NHS is no longer prioritising [quality general practice] and we can see a time when traditional GPs are private and the majority of patients are instead seen in clinics based in hospitals like minor A&E departments. The personal touch and the ‘whole patient’ knowledge will be lost,” Alder added.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/08/two-tier-nhs-gps-allow-patients-pay-jump-the-queue-bournemouth

[macca007]

Was bound to start happening. That's what the tories want and are forcing doctors hands in doing it.

[Show Me The Exit]

Yep - this is inevitable and has been going on for a while.

It's surprising that the story is just coming out now or that anyone is shocked by the news.

The NHS has been steered onto the rocks.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Should they have a policy where Tory Voters and Brexit voters go to the back of the queue?

After all, Tory voters are voting for a party that have vowed to shut down and sell of the NHS. Brexit voters have ripped the money away.

Why should they get treatment when all they want to do is destroy our NHS?

[CornerFlag]

There's literally an NHS topic five posts down from this (at time of posting this).

[Fiasco]

Theresa May has yet to visit a single hospital since becoming PM. I find that truly astonishing given the current state of the NHS. Not unexpected, but astonishing nonetheless.

[CornerFlag]

Theresa May has yet to visit a single hospital since becoming PM. I find that truly astonishing given the current state of the NHS. Not unexpected, but astonishing nonetheless.

Because Jeremy C*nt's got it all under control, brah.

[Medellin]

Just read that when the new Royal Ozzy opens here (Liverpool) it will have a capacity of 646 beds.
The current capacity is 850 beds,can you forsee any problems when it opens?

[Mr F]

Just read that when the new Royal Ozzy opens here (Liverpool) it will have a capacity of 646 beds.
The current capacity is 850 beds,can you forsee any problems when it opens?

It's all single rooms as well, apparently done in the name of infection control (also handy for when privatisation occurs). Last time I worked there there was talk of having to keep the old royal open to an extent to deal with the lack of beds at the new place.

[Trada]

Another cover up.

Private NHS contractor 'loses half a million medically sensitive documents'

The health of thousands of people may have been put at risk after documents are sent into storage rather than delivered to doctors and other medical staff

More than half a million sensitive NHS documents were kept in storage by a private company instead of being delivered to doctors, hospitals and others between 2001 and 2016, it has been reported.

The papers were said to include medical test results, diagnoses of illnesses including cancer and information relating to child protection, according to the Guardian.

They were not delivered after errors by a contractor, NHS Shared Business Services (SBS), meant they were sent to a warehouse instead, the newspaper said. The company is owned by the Department of Health and Sopra Steria, a French firm.

An NHS investigation was launched after the mistake was discovered in March 2016 in an attempt to find out whether any patients suffered as a result of the mistakes.

There were 708,000 items undelivered, but 200,000 were not medically sensitive.

However, of the remainder, investigators have already identified at least 2,500 items whose absence may have caused harm to patients. The extent of the problem is still being assessed.

A 50-strong Leeds based team is being led by Jill Matthews, ‎managing director at NHS England’s primary care branch. Their work has shown at least 7,700 GP surgeries around the country were affected.

Doctors have been paid £2.2m so far to analyse the documents returned to their clinics, but others have said they are too busy or asked administrators to do it.

“This is a very serious incident, it should never have happened and it’s an example of what happens when the NHS tries to cut costs by inviting private companies to do work which they don’t do properly,” Dr Richard Vautrey, chair of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, told the Guardian.

He added that there would “undoubtedly” be cases of GPs not having patient information from previous consultations.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said it was “an absolute scandal” and “astonishing”.

“Patient safety will have been put seriously at risk as a result of this staggering incompetence,” he added.

“The news is heartbreaking for the families involved and it will be scarcely believable for these hospitals and GPs who are doing their best to deliver services despite the neglect of the government.”

An NHS England spokeswoman said: “Some correspondence forwarded to SBS between 2011-2016 was not redirected or forwarded by them to GP surgeries or linked to the medical record when the sender sent correspondence to the wrong GP or the patient changed practice.

“A team including clinical experts has reviewed that old correspondence and it has now all been delivered wherever possible to the correct practice. SBS have expressed regret for this situation.”

The Department of Health said: “The department and NHS England have been completely transparent while work has been ongoing to resolve this issue, with patient safety as ever our first priority.

"In July, the Health Secretary informed parliament and in September, senior civil servants updated the Public Accounts Committee.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/private-nhs-contractor-loses-medical-documents-department-of-health-sopra-steria-shared-business-a7601061.html

[The Gulleysucker]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39116005

On the face of it this plan seems sensible, any reduction in the profit centre management ethos is likely to be welcomed but as ever the Devil will be in the detail and how it is implemented.

However, I do think it would be best if it was scrutinised by Parliament first.

[Welshred]

Yeh...but then you get shit like this...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/28/everyhospital-ordered-change-logo-nhs-identity-managers-move/

[Trada]

NHS seeks £10bn cash boost from hedge funds

The NHS is in talks with hedge funds about borrowing up to £10 billion to repair hospitals and beef up GP care.

Health chiefs believe that low interest rates mean the NHS has a “golden opportunity” to raise money for infrastructure without relying on the chancellor.

The Times has learnt that health officials have reached the outline of an agreement with one or two hedge funds, as well as other investment companies. However, no deal can be signed without Treasury approval.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs-seeks-10bn-cash-boost-from-hedge-funds-rqcmm0tq8

[RedGlen]

Nurses vote in favour of industrial action - formal ballot proposed.

Nurses vote in support of strike ballot over low pay

Four out of five Royal College of Nursing members back a walkout in protest at below inflation pay rises

The Royal College of Nursing has warned that low pay is partly responsible for tens of thousands of unfilled posts. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

Owen Bowcott
@owenbowcott

Sunday 14 May 2017 11.30 BST

First published on Sunday 14 May 2017 11.30 BST

Nurses have voted overwhelmingly to support a ballot for strike action in protest at below-inflation pay rises, the Royal College of Nursing has announced.

Four out of five members of the RCN who took part in the consultative vote backed a walkout, while nine out of 10 favoured industrial action short of a strike.

The large majorities reflect growing dissatisfaction within the nursing profession over wages. More than 50,000 of the RCN’S 270,000 members took part in the ballot.

The union’s annual conference in Liverpool is discussing its next move. A further ballot would have to be held before any industrial action is taken.

The RCN has warned that low pay is partly responsible for tens of thousands of unfilled posts. Nurses say they have experienced a 14% pay cut in real terms since 2010 because of the government’s cap on public sector pay.

A formal public sector pay cap of 1% was introduced in 2015. The RCN’s general secretary, Janet Davies, has warned that years of pay cuts have left nurses struggling to make ends meet.

There have been reports of staff applying for payday loans and of resorting to food banks to supplement their diminishing incomes.

The last campaign for strike action over NHS pay was in 2014; some nurses took part but the RCN did not participate.

Commenting on the ballot result, Jon Skewes, the Royal College of Midwives’ director of policy, employment relations and communications, said: “NHS staff have now seen seven years of pay restraint and with at least another three years on the horizon. Continuing pay restraint is a disastrous, unsustainable policy for maternity services and the NHS. We are working with other NHS trade unions to break the government’s policy of pay restraint.

“The NHS is reliant on midwives’, maternity support workers’ and all other NHS staff’s goodwill and we want the government to recognise that. We want to use the opportunity of the general election to influence the government to address the staffing crisis in the NHS and work to retain existing NHS staff in the service.”

A survey by the Health Foundation last month found that England could face a shortfall of 42,000 nurses by 2020, and almost half of all nurses believe that staffing levels are already dangerously stretched. One in nine positions is vacant, according to analysis by the RCN.

Defending pay levels before the ballot, a Department of Health spokesperson said: “The dedication and sheer hard work of our nurses is crucial to delivering world-class patient care — that’s why the NHS offers flexible working, training and development opportunities, competitive pay and an excellent pension scheme.

“As is usual practice, the government accepted independent recommendations about this year’s pay uplift.

“Ensuring pay is affordable helps protect jobs – there are an extra 12,100 nurses on our wards since 2010 – which means frontline NHS services are protected at a time of rising demand.”

Commenting on NHS nurses pay last month, a Conservative party spokesman said: “Investment in our NHS, in additional staff and indeed in their overall pay is founded on the strong economy only Theresa May and the Conservatives can provide.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/14/nurses-vote-support-ballot-for-strike-action-low-pay

For context - the Royal College of Nursing has never undertaken a strike or industrial action. Members voted against joining the strike action in 2014. So for Members to be backing a strike now, is a unprecedented move and an indication of how seriously the issue of nursing pay is being taken.

Just yet another potential crisis for the NHS, following Junior Doctor strikes, the winter NHS struggles, and the recent cyber attack.