Posted 10 January 2023 - 12:46
Posted 10 January 2023 - 12:46
News
Food banks for nurses: survey offers glimpse of scale of crisis
NHS charities reveal support they are giving staff, and more help is planned as many nurses continue to experience food poverty
NHS charities reveal support they are giving staff, and more help is planned as many nurses continue to experience food poverty
At least 550 nurses in the UK are turning to food banks each month as the cost of living spirals and they struggle to pay bills.
A fifth of charities supporting NHS employers say they already have active food banks for staff and more support is planned, according to research by NHS Charities Together.
In a snap 24-hour survey of NHS charities this week, six reported having a food bank, with around 550 nurses among an estimated 5,000 NHS staff using them monthly.
Given 34 of a possible total of 234 charities responded, the true figure could be significantly higher.
Help for staff to get through financial crisis
NHS Charities Together’s chief executive Ellie Orton called the figures heartbreaking.
‘As the cost of living escalates, NHS organisations and the charities who support them are looking at ways to help staff through the crisis,’ she said.
‘But with pressures facing NHS workers already so extreme, it’s heartbreaking that some are having to resort to using food banks to get by.’
In addition to food banks, more than half of the surveyed charities said they were looking at other food support for staff, such as voucher programmes, free breakfasts and subsidised meals in canteens, where employees can bring their families.
Workplace pantries
One employer providing support for staff is Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, which recently partnered with a food poverty charity to provide three trollies of food a week.
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The trust’s chief people officer Michelle Turner said it decided to set up a pantry to support struggling staff with ‘no questions asked’.
She added: ‘We know with the current financial pressures, our staff – like many other people – may be finding things more difficult.
‘The pantry consists of sealed and dry foods as well as other essential items such as sanitary products, which can be accessed by staff 24/7. So far, it has been very well received and we will continue offering it for as long as it is needed.’
Pantries have also been set up in Lothian by the Unison union’s branch, with support from NHS Lothian Charity and Edinburgh and East Lothian Food Projects, and also at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
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