Posted 25 October 2023 - 14:08
Posted 25 October 2023 - 14:08
News
Delay in practice nurses’ pay-rise exposes ‘two-tier system’
General practice staff were promised 6% award, but union claims thousands could still be waiting to see their money, in contrast to counterparts in the NHS, whose pay award has been honoured
General practice staff were promised 6% award, but union claims thousands could still be waiting to see their money, in contrast to counterparts in the NHS, whose pay award has been honoured
Many general practice nurses have not yet received the pay rise they have been expecting– unlike their counterparts in the NHS.
Their 6% award, promised in the summer, has not yet been passed on to all nurses employed by general practices. The RCN said thousands could be affected.
The government has put extra money into GP contracts, but it did not ring-fence this to cover the pay increase, and so it is for practices to determine how the money is spent.
The delay that many GPNs could be experiencing exposes a two-tier funding system that fails to reflect the value they bring to the health service, the NHS Confederation said.
‘Pay rise for many general practice nurses is months late’
The RCN has written to health minister Neil O’Brien urging him to ensure GP surgeries have enough money to cover the pay rise.
In her letter, RCN director for England Patricia Marquis said: ‘There is already clear disparity between employment terms of nursing staff working in general practice compared to other parts of the NHS. Now, their pay rise is months late, and for many the money promised could be missing.
‘The RCN is unequivocal that all nursing staff working in general practice should receive the same 6% increase in pay as salaried GPs – as the government announced in July. Since that time it has become clear this promised increase is at risk for many working in practices that will not receive the full funding.’
Director of NHS Confederation’s primary care network Ruth Rankine said: ‘Nurses in general practice play a vital role in providing care to patients yet do not benefit from the same terms and conditions as their peers working in the wider NHS. If the government is serious about improving access to general practice and managing demand across the rest of the NHS, then it needs to reward general practice nurses fairly.
‘While extra investment has been awarded to cover the pay increase for nurses on Agenda for Change contracts, this has not extended to primary care, which has created a two-tier payment model for the profession.’
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it is for GP practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees within agreed GP contract funding.
‘The GP contract has now been uplifted and we expect practices to pass this uplift on to salaried staff, including nurses,’ a spokesperson said.
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