The Government should pay nursing staff a significant recruitment and retention supplement in addition to their basic salary in order to tackle the ‘ever-worsening’ workforce crisis in the NHS, the RCN has said.
The supplement must be at least ‘several thousand’ and be paid in addition to a ‘substantial’ above-inflation pay rise to encourage nursing staff to join and stay in the service.
- Nurses call for emergency measures amid sharp decline in student applications
- Half of practice nurses received no pay rise last year
- Nurses count cost of a decade of pay cuts
These are the demands in our formal submission of evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB), which makes recommendations to the government on wage rises each year.
It comes as a new RCN survey of thousands of frontline nursing staff has revealed almost half of those working in the NHS are actively planning or considering leaving their job. Without the pay enhancement, the RCN warning that scores more staff could leave, further limiting the ability of nursing staff to provide safe and effective care.
‘The crisis in the nursing workforce deepens each day as thousands of experienced staff decide to leave the NHS, fed up with being undervalued and underpaid. When nursing professionals with the greatest clinical experience leave the profession, patient care ultimately suffers,’ said Professor Pat Cullen, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive.
‘A pay enhancement worth several thousand pounds is recognition of the crisis gripping the nursing workforce. It is a quick and effective measure that can alleviate some of the dissatisfaction with pay, terms and conditions felt by staff after years of neglect. The policy is a no-brainer for ministers.’
Evidence shows that nursing staff are more likely to stay in the profession when they’re paid fairly, offered career progression, and are working in fully staffed teams where they’re able to deliver care safely. Pay justice, improved career progression, and safe staffing measures are the only things that can address the NHS crisis, the RCN believes.
‘The lesson for the Government and politicians everywhere is that failing to deliver the pay justice nursing staff deserve has consequences. Only decisive action can now help stem the loss of staff and protect patients,’ added Prof Cullen.