UNISON Nurses meet Labour Health spokesman after Government "pause".

"UNISON nurses and midwives meet with Labour Health spokesman John Healey and local Tooting MP Sadiq Khan at the House of Commons (4th April 2011) to discuss the on going campaign against the Coalition's NHS & Social Care Bill, after Conservative Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley was forced to invoke a two month pause in the passage of the Bill because of growing opposition from NHS professionals and the public.
 
Maureen Brown UNISON Nursing Convenor stated  "The growing campaign against the NHS Bill, had forced the Government to pause, now we need to move forward with the public to ram home the overwhelming opposition to the NHS Bill and NHS privatisation".

John Healey stated the Government NHS proposals were now weighed down in "confusion, chaos and incompetence" he also referred to Andrews Lansley's ability to unite in opposition to his NHS Reforms former right wing Thatcherite Minister Norman Tebbit and rap star NxtGen, the later responsible for viral video hit Andrew Lansley NHS Rap.

Sadiq Khan MP stated  "He would work tirelessly with UNISON, NHS staff and patients to defend the NHS from this vicious attack". (UNISON press release)

Our NHS, Our Future: Oppose the Health & Social Care Bill

Today (Monday 31 Jan) there will be the second reading at the House of Commons of the The Health and Social Care Bill.  Nurses at St. George's Hospital in Tooting, South London demonstrate support for our NHS.

Nurses Vote on Action to Stop Cuts at St Georges Hospital

"Four hundred Theatre Nurses and Practitioner members of health care union UNISON at St Georges hospital, South London, have started balloting in an “indicative” ballot that could, if agreed lead to official industrial action at St Georges by nurses for the first time in twenty three years.

UNISON the health care union has been angered at the plans to implement Tory Led Government health cuts at St Georges Hospital, Tooting. In particular nurses and technical staff are angry at the decision to press ahead with major changes to the rotas, duties and pay of four hundred Theatre nurses and practitioners.

These changes  would see staff suffer pay cuts, day staff forced to work night duty and some of those with childcare commitments forced to quit Theatres. This means the loss of many dedicated and experienced NHS staff. Nursing Staff (many of whom are women) will also be forced to work a late shift which finishes at 10pm, forcing them to make their way back home across London in the dark.

UNISON Regional Officer Michael Walker condemned the move and stated:-

 “When this Government of millionaires are telling hard pressed professional Theatre nurses that they need to cut their pay, work nights and walk home late at night, you can understand why nursing staff are so angry.

 “It would seem that the Government and some managers have totally lost all understanding of compassion and fairness in the way they treat dedicated nurses, in their quest to implement Government cuts to the NHS.”

UNISON Branch Secretary Geoff Thorne states :-

“It is regrettable that, despite UNISON’s best efforts to resolve these issues, it now looks inevitable that we are heading towards industrial action by nurses and practitioners, a situation created by management’s refusal to sit down and discuss child care and pay protection arrangements.

UNISON will now be waging a vigorous campaign in the community, and amongst consultants and NHS professionals at the hospital to highlight the plight of dedicated NHS nurses and staff at St Georges Hospital.”

UNISON Nursing Convenor Jane Pilgrim stated:-
“I remain hopeful that even at this late stage, we can still sit down and resolve the outstanding issues affecting nursing staff so that patients can continue to receive high quality services,”

Management at St Georges have left nursing and professional staff in a very invidious position where they either allow management to significantly cut the pay and conditions or they are reluctantly take some form of industrial action”.  

Hat-tip UNISON press release.

Dont' let Nurses Freeze

So the CONDEMs are going to protect the NHS and front line services?

The first of many protests - Nurses at Kingston Hospital protest today at a job freeze.  Check out this UNISON press release.

"Dont' let Nurses Freeze

Kingston hospital’s decision to freeze front-line nursing posts will hit patient care hard as well as adding to the burden on existing over-stretched staff, said UNISON nurses at the hospital today (insert date). The nurses condemned moves to cut the number of nurses on wards as part of a jobs freeze at the hospital, saying that it flies in the face of pledges to protect front-line NHS staff.

The Trust management have stated that they will not replace nurses who leave unless they are “critical”.

Michael Walker, Nursing officer for UNISON slammed the proposed cuts as “putting patient care at risk” saying:

“ it is outrageous that overworked nurses are being expected to cover for nursing posts that are not filled. UNISON believes that the cuts will put lives and patient care at risk. The Coalition Government told us that they would not cut front line services, and yet at Kingston - Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s local hospital - this is exactly what we are witnessing - nurses are very much frontline service”.

Nora Pearce, UNISON Nursing & Midwifery Convenor at the hospital said:

“The NHS has a very high turnover of nursing posts; nurses cannot simply be expected to pick up the work of posts no longer filled without compromising the care we provide.

“I urge those implementing the cuts to take serious consideration of our concerns and reverse this decision”

Ends