UNISON has today (Wednesday) written to Sajid Javid urging action on pay to stop the exodus of health service staff as they face ‘a cost-of-living apocalypse’.
Health workers across the South East of England have also written to local NHS employers asking them to publicly support a decent pay rise and take action to boost earnings.
The union warns that the NHS workforce is in crisis and the consequence of more employees quitting will be “longer ambulance queues outside hospitals, ever-increasing waiting lists, and people who are in desperate need of treatment getting sicker”.
This worsening scenario is outlined in the letter sent to the health and social care secretary. The union has also sought support from Amanda Pritchard at NHS England, Danny Mortimer at NHS Employers, Chris Hopson at NHS Providers, and Philippa Hird who chairs the NHS pay review body.
In addition, more than 35,000 health staff and members of the public have signed an online version of the letter. In it, they appeal for all NHS workers to be paid fairly, both for the job they do and for every hour they work.
To get their message across, NHS staff across the South East have been holding a day of action with stalls, demonstrations and meetings all highlighting the impact of the cost of living crisis.
The NHS faces an exodus of workers, which has major implications for patient care, says UNISON. The letter from the union says action is needed desperately “to stop more dedicated, hardworking but exhausted staff leaving the health service this year”.
It continues: “We are asking you to put NHS pay right. What every NHS employee needs – from nurses and paramedics to porters and healthcare assistants – is a decent wage rise and genuine measures to convince them to stay.”
The union highlights in the letter that if more staff leave the NHS then “those left behind will find it tougher to provide the standards of care patients rightly expect”.
It continues: “Staff are vital to achieving a fully functioning post-pandemic NHS. Without investment in the workforce, patients will end up paying the price.”
UNISON South East head of health Liam Kenny said: “This is a desperate situation with NHS staff already quitting in their droves. The government can no longer put its head in the sand over this crisis.
“It’s patients who will suffer when there are too few staff to provide proper care. Ministers must ensure workers are encouraged to stay with an above-inflation wage rise and an end to poverty pay.”
