Call for London mayor hopefuls to promise affordable travel and housing for nurses

Nurses are calling for London’s mayoral candidates to prioritise affordable housing and transport for NHS staff across the capital.

The RCN gathered the views of its members as part of its support for a campaign by the London NHS Partnership and NHS Employers.

Together they analysed the postcodes of more than 100,000 staff between 2010 and 2015 to understand why so many leave London.

During this period, they found transport costs rose 25% while average house prices jumped 37% to 11 times the average NHS salary in the capital.

The college then questioned some of its London-based members.

East London-based senior nurse Shaun Wright blamed longer commutes on staff moving further from work to find affordable housing, which he claimed ‘is known to be a significant factor in sickness/absence and fatigue at work’.

'An 11-hour continuous break between day shifts, required by working time regulations, is not real if three hours is spent commuting back and forth to work,’ he said.

South west London-based nurse Pat Yiggon agreed and called for subsidised accommodation nearer workplaces.

She said: ‘Nursing students on placement in London are already planning careers outside the capital, and even abroad where living standards can be so much better.’

Fellow south west London-based senior nurse Mike Smith said local landlords were charging £700 a month just for a room in a shared house.

‘The reality for most nurses in London is that you will never own a house or flat,' he said. ‘Turnover of nursing staff locally is about 14%, with many overseas nurses returning home or moving out of London when their subsidised hospital accommodation comes to an end.’

RCN operational manager Sue Tarr warned that travel and accommodation costs for nurses ‘cannot be ignored any longer’, and added that the college was ‘eagerly awaiting the proposals from London candidates to explain how they are going to assist in addressing this issue’.

London's mayoral election will take place on May 5. Unions and NHS organisations expect the candidates campaigning to replace current mayor Boris Johnson to pledge to work with Transport for London to review travel costs and to provide more key worker housing for staff.

University College London Hospitals NHS Trust director of workforce Ben Morrin said: ‘London’s NHS relies upon great staff. Yet retaining them is the greatest workforce challenge that London’s NHS faces.

‘The next mayor can make a vital contribution by committing to review how we can reduce transport costs for nurses, therapists and scientists who will otherwise struggle to remain in London.’

For full details of the election visit the official website