Divide and rule won’t help the economic recovery, says UNISON 

Chancellor’s plan is austerity plain and simple

Covid vaccine roll-out must not involve private firms

There must be no repeat of test and trace foul-ups

Government breaks pledge to stop low-paid health & care staff paying twice to use the NHS

Boris Johnson promised a lifeline to low-paid workers then callously pulled it away

UNISON NHS workers join in with #OneTeam2K

Health branches across the region took part in two days of campaigning on Thursday and Friday, to ask the government for early action on NHS pay. Branches used social media and took part in socially distanced events to press home the message that health workers deserve much more than applause for their efforts during the […]

NHS workers in the South East call on government to show its appreciation

An early pay rise of at least £2,000 to every NHS worker is needed

Extend free visa scheme to all frontline care and NHS staff, says UNISON

UNISON member Akeem Lawall speaks out about the huge cost for him and his young family as UNISON launches campaign for people to write to their MP over Immigration Bill

Greater clarity needed on plans to scrap immigration health surcharge

Government must remove charge for all healthcare settings

New agreement to ensure NHS staff in England are paid properly for every working hour

Unions agree measures to be applied locally

Teamwork and compassion – meeting the challenges of Covid-19 testing

Agnes Sitjar, is a UNISON Steward at Andover, Basingstoke & Winchester Hospitals branch and is part of the team that was the first in UK hospital’s to develop a live test for Covid-19. Agnes spoke to us about the challenges she has been facing during Covid-19: “As a Specialist Biomedical Scientist in Microbiology in Hampshire […]

Exemptions would be welcome but health surcharge should be scrapped

Responding to Labour leader Keir Starmer’s proposal at Prime Minister’s questions yesterday (Wednesday) that health and care staff should be exempted from the immigration health surcharge, UNISON South East regional secretary Steve Torrance said: “Dealing with the pandemic has shown more than ever how NHS and care services rely on staff from overseas. It beggars belief that […]

Game changing innovations in PPE at Southampton General

We hear from Rebecca Storer, a Health Care Assistant (HCA) and UNISON member at University Hospital Southampton, on what it’s been like working through the Covid-19 crisis, and how the crisis has led to innovations in PPE.   I’ve worked as an HCA in the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) at University Hospital Southampton for almost two years. We look after patients arriving from the Emergency […]

Health unions publish blueprint for the safe opening up of the NHS

UNISON and other health unions say NHS must continue to operate a safety-first approach

Show Racism the Red Card’s new film challenges racism towards NHS workers

Show Racism the Red Card has launched a new video which follows the stories of frontline NHS staff as they recount their experience of racial discrimination at work. The film has contributions from UNISON members and Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary of UNISON, along with a number of high profile footballers from Show Racism the […]

‘It’s tough out there, everyone is doing an amazing job’

Isle of Wight Health Branch Secretary, Jay Chappell, has returned to the frontline during Covid-19. He told us a bit about his new ‘normal’ during the crisis. “Normally I have full time release as the chair of staff side and branch secretary. Since Covid-19 hit, normal business kind of stopped as you would expect. Social […]

New PPE guidance for NHS teams

Updated rules reflect changing threat The UK Government and NHS leaders from a range of medical and nursing royal colleges have published new guidance about personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS teams who are likely to come into contact with patients with coronavirus. The guidance has been agreed by the four Chief Medical Officers, Chief […]