UK
Patients and staff ‘paying a heavy price’ despite Government ‘lip service’, warn nurses
Official statistics show there are nearly 40,000 registered nursing vacancies across the NHS in England alone.
by Matt Bodell
28 October 2021
Shutterstock
Last month there were also over 2 million visits to A&E departments in England.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that patients and NHS staff are “paying a heavy price” despite ongoing “lip service” from the Government.
They have accused the Chancellor of ducking the opportunity to address health inequalities and chronic staffing shortages across the health service.
Official statistics show there are nearly 40,000 registered nursing vacancies across the NHS in England alone.
Last week Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he did not “believe the pressures on the NHS are unsustainable” despite NHS performance data showing a new record-high for the number of patients on waiting lists for treatment.
Last month, there were also over 2 million visits to A&E departments in England, the highest number in any September since current records began and over 100,000 patients waited over four hours for admission to a hospital bed.
The Chancellor did however pledge £5.9 billion for new equipment and promised to give NHS workers a pay rise “next year”.
Paying a heavy price.
Responding to the Budget statement from the Chancellor, RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said: “Despite lip service to levelling up, the Chancellor has ducked the opportunity to address health inequalities and invest in the country’s nursing staff as a means of investing in patient safety.
“The pay freeze hit nurses working in social care and the community – but whether in the NHS or not, nursing staff need a proper pay rise that finally recognises their skill and professionalism.
“He failed to address their pay and again kicked the can down the road by failing to give any commitment to a funded strategy for England to address the tens of thousands of vacant nurse jobs in health and care.
“The public’s greatest fear for health and care services is the current lack of staff. With salaries falling in real terms each year, too many more are considering their future.
“Patient care is paying a heavy price, as is our workforce. Any new centre or clinic requires skilled staff, as does the backlog of people needing care and support.
“Announcements on new hospitals and clinics raise patient expectations but without investment in the nursing workforce waiting lists will continue to grow.
“Patient safety should be the primary concern of every politician. Today’s statement sets the direction for the next few years but completely misses the chance to address years of absent workforce planning.”
Official statistics show there are nearly 40,000 registered nursing vacancies across the NHS in England alone.
by Matt Bodell
28 October 2021
Shutterstock
Last month there were also over 2 million visits to A&E departments in England.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that patients and NHS staff are “paying a heavy price” despite ongoing “lip service” from the Government.
They have accused the Chancellor of ducking the opportunity to address health inequalities and chronic staffing shortages across the health service.
Official statistics show there are nearly 40,000 registered nursing vacancies across the NHS in England alone.
Last week Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he did not “believe the pressures on the NHS are unsustainable” despite NHS performance data showing a new record-high for the number of patients on waiting lists for treatment.
Last month, there were also over 2 million visits to A&E departments in England, the highest number in any September since current records began and over 100,000 patients waited over four hours for admission to a hospital bed.
The Chancellor did however pledge £5.9 billion for new equipment and promised to give NHS workers a pay rise “next year”.
Paying a heavy price.
Responding to the Budget statement from the Chancellor, RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said: “Despite lip service to levelling up, the Chancellor has ducked the opportunity to address health inequalities and invest in the country’s nursing staff as a means of investing in patient safety.
“The pay freeze hit nurses working in social care and the community – but whether in the NHS or not, nursing staff need a proper pay rise that finally recognises their skill and professionalism.
“He failed to address their pay and again kicked the can down the road by failing to give any commitment to a funded strategy for England to address the tens of thousands of vacant nurse jobs in health and care.
“The public’s greatest fear for health and care services is the current lack of staff. With salaries falling in real terms each year, too many more are considering their future.
“Patient care is paying a heavy price, as is our workforce. Any new centre or clinic requires skilled staff, as does the backlog of people needing care and support.
“Announcements on new hospitals and clinics raise patient expectations but without investment in the nursing workforce waiting lists will continue to grow.
“Patient safety should be the primary concern of every politician. Today’s statement sets the direction for the next few years but completely misses the chance to address years of absent workforce planning.”
Greensill scheme pushed by David Cameron provided ‘no benefits to NHS’, official probe finds
‘Promised savings vanishing into thin air,’ says public accounts committee chief
Adam Forrest
Former prime minister David Cameron has come under intense scrutiny over his lobbying efforts for Greensill Capital
(PA)
An NHS payment scheme pushed by David Cameron while he worked for Greensill Capital provided no “material benefits” to the health service, a government watchdog has found.
The former Conservative prime minister was at the centre of a scandal over his lobbying of Tory ministers on behalf of the finance firm which collapsed earlier this year.
In 2019 Mr Cameron lobbied then health secretary Matt Hancock about the benefits of payment scheme allowing NHS staff to get some of their earnings in advance, later rolled out to several trusts.
But an investigation National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the salary scheme – and a separate payment scheme for community pharmacies – did not receive the expected uptake and did nothing to help the NHS financially.
The Labour chair of the public accounts select committee said the failure of the schemes to deliver “promised savings” raised more questions about the government’s ability to “prevent conflicts of interest”.
The NAO investigation looked into the Pharmacy Earlier Payment Scheme brought in by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2013 following advice provided by Lex Greensill. His firm Greensill Capital later acted as the scheme’s financial guarantor.
The health department estimated that the scheme – aimed at getting banks to help reimburse pharmacists for prescriptions more swiftly – could save the NHS £100m. But investigators for the spending watchdog found “no evidence that these predicted savings were realised”.
The NAO also looked into a salary advance scheme called Earnd – pushed by Greensill Capital by 2019 and 2021 as a way of allowing employees of NHS trusts to receive a proportion of their earnings before payday.
The investigation found that seven NHS trusts adopted the scheme, but was not widely taken up and did not help the health service financially. The collapse of Greensill Capital in March 2021 forced some NHS trusts to switch to another advance scheme – incurring extra costs for doing so.
Earlier this year it emerged that Mr Cameron had organised a “private drink” with Mr Greensill and Mr Hancock in October 2019 to talk about the salary advance scheme.
The ex-health secretary later admitted his former Tory colleague had lobbied him, but details of the meeting were not published anywhere on records of official engagements.
Labour MP Meg Hillier, chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said the NAO’s findings “raise yet more questions over the government’s ability to prevent conflicts of interest and the independence of advice it receives”.
The influential backbencher added: “The consequences once again fall squarely on the taxpayer – with increasing risks to value for money and promised savings vanishing into thin air.”
Mr Cameron came under intense scrutiny over his efforts to get Greensill Capital access to the government’s Covid support schemes in the early weeks of the pandemic as the firm faced insolvency.
Documents showed a barrage of messages sent by Mr Cameron to ministers, including chancellor Rishi Sunak, and officials at the Treasury and Bank of England in March and April of 2020 as he fought to get Greensill access to a loans scheme.
Mr Cameron later told MPs on the Treasury committee that he ought to have made formal approaches by letter – but insisted that his use of private phone numbers of former Tory colleagues was “acceptable”.
‘Promised savings vanishing into thin air,’ says public accounts committee chief
Adam Forrest
Former prime minister David Cameron has come under intense scrutiny over his lobbying efforts for Greensill Capital
(PA)
An NHS payment scheme pushed by David Cameron while he worked for Greensill Capital provided no “material benefits” to the health service, a government watchdog has found.
The former Conservative prime minister was at the centre of a scandal over his lobbying of Tory ministers on behalf of the finance firm which collapsed earlier this year.
In 2019 Mr Cameron lobbied then health secretary Matt Hancock about the benefits of payment scheme allowing NHS staff to get some of their earnings in advance, later rolled out to several trusts.
But an investigation National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the salary scheme – and a separate payment scheme for community pharmacies – did not receive the expected uptake and did nothing to help the NHS financially.
The Labour chair of the public accounts select committee said the failure of the schemes to deliver “promised savings” raised more questions about the government’s ability to “prevent conflicts of interest”.
The NAO investigation looked into the Pharmacy Earlier Payment Scheme brought in by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2013 following advice provided by Lex Greensill. His firm Greensill Capital later acted as the scheme’s financial guarantor.
The health department estimated that the scheme – aimed at getting banks to help reimburse pharmacists for prescriptions more swiftly – could save the NHS £100m. But investigators for the spending watchdog found “no evidence that these predicted savings were realised”.
The NAO also looked into a salary advance scheme called Earnd – pushed by Greensill Capital by 2019 and 2021 as a way of allowing employees of NHS trusts to receive a proportion of their earnings before payday.
The investigation found that seven NHS trusts adopted the scheme, but was not widely taken up and did not help the health service financially. The collapse of Greensill Capital in March 2021 forced some NHS trusts to switch to another advance scheme – incurring extra costs for doing so.
Earlier this year it emerged that Mr Cameron had organised a “private drink” with Mr Greensill and Mr Hancock in October 2019 to talk about the salary advance scheme.
The ex-health secretary later admitted his former Tory colleague had lobbied him, but details of the meeting were not published anywhere on records of official engagements.
Labour MP Meg Hillier, chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said the NAO’s findings “raise yet more questions over the government’s ability to prevent conflicts of interest and the independence of advice it receives”.
The influential backbencher added: “The consequences once again fall squarely on the taxpayer – with increasing risks to value for money and promised savings vanishing into thin air.”
Mr Cameron came under intense scrutiny over his efforts to get Greensill Capital access to the government’s Covid support schemes in the early weeks of the pandemic as the firm faced insolvency.
Documents showed a barrage of messages sent by Mr Cameron to ministers, including chancellor Rishi Sunak, and officials at the Treasury and Bank of England in March and April of 2020 as he fought to get Greensill access to a loans scheme.
Mr Cameron later told MPs on the Treasury committee that he ought to have made formal approaches by letter – but insisted that his use of private phone numbers of former Tory colleagues was “acceptable”.
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