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Spectator
4 days ago
- General
- Spectator
Nurses deserve more credit
When I was recently in hospital for almost six months, one of my closest and most impish friends – who knows me very well and figured that I wouldn't be up for anything serious – would bring me the novels of Betty Neels. Neels is largely forgotten now, but between 1969 and her death in 2001 she wrote 134 novels for the publisher Mills & Boon. Her male protagonists are often Dutch surgeons (her own husband was a Dutch sailor) and the plots are a bit samey: spirited nurse hates arrogant doctor/surgeon/consultant but eventually falls A over T in love with him. At the same time as I was reading Neels's novels, I was watching with my devious little hack's eye the interaction between the doctors and nurses around me, and it couldn't have been more different. Nurses spoke to nurses, and doctors to doctors; 'The only time the doctors speak to us is when they want us to do something they don't want to do,' laughed one beautiful young nurse. I thought of this when reading about the new threatened doctors strike and how analysis from the Royal College of Nursing shows that 'nurses pay has been so severely eroded that starting salaries are now over £8,000 lower than if wages had kept up with inflation since 2010.' Is it a class thing? Nurses are more likely to have gone to state schools, while doctors are more likely to be from the middle class. Doctors staged about a dozen strikes in 2023 and 2024 under the Tories, were immediately given a 22 per cent pay rise by Labour and still feel like they're entitled to more. On a recent episode of Jeremy Vine on Channel 5, an older, working-class female community care worker in Manchester, Sarah, rang in to oppose the doctors' new demand. She took on a posh, young female doctor ('Helena Pugh' – you couldn't make it up) and matched her claim for claim about how hard she worked. All for a damn sight less money and prestige. One nurse at my hospital ward told me: 'I've done this job since I was young, and I'm just about to retire. In my experience, the hierarchy is still pretty much there and the consultants are still unapproachable.' (Mistrust of 'weird' consultants was very evident among the nurses I met.) 'Nursing is an ill-defined profession,' she continued. 'We're like a sponge sitting in the middle of the team, soaking up all the bits that no one else will do, from admin to cleaning.' A nurse at the Royal Sussex told me: 'Nurses make terrible strikers because we're out there on the picket line, then our alarm goes off and we run back onto the wards because we're needed. They know they've got us…' A thread on Reddit by a nurse summed it up for me: 'I'm not resentful of junior doctors striking. I am bitter how bad we do in comparison to their success though. If every nurse just walked out, can you imagine the chaos that would ensue? Patients would come to harm; there would be chaos on the wards, in ICU, in A&E. At the end of the day, nurses do the majority of the labour and graft. But look at the nurses strike in America; the majority walked out and the strikes lasted three days. They got what they wanted. I think if we stayed strong, we would be in a much stronger position.' To return to the class issue, maybe the difference is that nursing is a calling – like being a nun, if 'the NHS is the closest thing the English people have to a religion' as Nigel Lawson quipped – while being a doctor is something clever bourgeois girls and boys become if they were good at science subjects at school. Whatever, the mismatch is unfortunate, and having reverberations far beyond who will and won't strike. People may be losing their religion; earlier this month the new boss of the NHS, Sir Jim Mackey, said: 'It feels like we've built mechanisms to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience.' Though she was a comedy character in Carry Onfilms, it's telling and slightly surreal how many people with recent experience of the NHS as patients yearn for a Hattie Jacques-type 'matron' to sort it all out. There is also a consensus that after graduating, doctors should be made to work for at least five years minimum in the NHS before decamping to distant shores – the same places that the nurses are now being tempted to by adverts on television. In the sunlit wards of Australia, away from the responsibility that comes with being the carriers of a religious flame, maybe at last the romantic alliances between nurses and doctors dreamed of by Betty Neels can finally come to fruition. Until then, it's ironic to think that even the snogging game my generation played as children – 'doctors and nurses' – assumed that this was the natural order of things. If the game was played realistically these days, the two chosen children would simply go into separate rooms, and fume about how easy the other one has it.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Nurse Sandie Peggie taking action against union in wake of gender row suspension
The NHS Fife nurse claims she was not supported by the Royal College of Nursing after her suspension in the wake of a complaint about sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor. A nurse at the centre of a gender dispute has announced she is taking legal action against her trade union. Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job in 2024 after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. Ms Peggie was later placed on special leave after a complaint of bullying and harassment by Dr Upton, but was cleared by an NHS Fife investigation earlier this week. The suspension led to an employment tribunal this year, in which Ms Peggie launched a claim against Dr Upton and NHS Fife, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. On Saturday, the Herald reported Ms Peggie had taken legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), claiming it failed to support her after her suspension, which the union denies. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 'The RCN's failure to act like a trade union ought to has contributed to Sandie Peggie's mistreatment,' Ms Peggie's lawyer Margaret Gribbon said in a statement. 'They have repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work. 'Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board.' taking action for unlawful discrimination. An RCN spokesperson told the newspaper: 'We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie.'
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Shock report shows care home workers are more likely to live in poverty
The new report by the Health Foundation shows one in five care home workers and their families live in poverty while one in ten have to go without food The nation's army of care workers are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than the average worker, it has been revealed. A new report shows one in five care home workers and their families live in poverty, while one in ten have to go without food. Health Foundation analysis found 80% of UK jobs paid more than the average care worker wage of £12 an hour in 2024. It warns many care workers are on zero-hours contracts and exploitation of care workers is on the rise. One in ten children of care home workers have to go without essentials, like a warm winter coat. Proper pay for workers was a key demand of the Mirror 's Fair Care for All campaign, which also highlighted the collapse in access to social care over the last decade. Patricia Marquis, director of Royal College of Nursing in England, said: 'It is unacceptable that those caring for some of the most vulnerable are forced to live in poverty, unable to pay for food and use welfare payments to top up their salaries. "It is a sad state of affairs that such a vital workforce is so poorly valued and little wonder that there are so many vacancies. When care homes cannot recruit enough staff it leaves too many without access to the care they deserve.' The Health Foundation analysed national data from 2021/22 to 2023/24 which also showed 15% of care home workers have to rely on Universal Credit to get by. Lucinda Allen, policy fellow at the Health Foundation, said: 'Caring for older people and disabled people is vital and fulfilling work, but it has long been underpaid and undervalued. "So many care workers and their families are struggling to keep up with bills, afford enough food, put savings aside, and provide warm clothing for their children.' The Mirror has launched the Fair Care for All campaign calling for social care to be properly staffed and funded. Successive governments have ditched or delayed plans to reform funding for social care, leaving many going without vital care and worsening pay and conditions for carers. The Health Foundation says the Government's Employment Rights Bill has the potential to transform work in social care, helping to ensure people are cared for and lift workers out of poverty. Planned 'Fair Pay Agreements' for social care could set a new sector minimum wage but the recent Spending Review did not commit enough funding to substantially increase carers' pay. The Health Foundation estimates that raising the wage floor in social care to the level of clinical support workers and administrative workers in the NHS would result in an average 6.6% rise in household income. The independent health charity calculates this will cost an extra £2.3 billion by 2028/29. Researcher Lucinda Allen added: 'Around one in every 20 working people in England is employed in social care. Enhancing pay and working conditions in the care sector could be an important part of the government's growth agenda, improve people's lives and help fill the 131,000 social care vacancies. The government must deliver on its promise of fair pay for care workers, alongside wider improvements to our care system.' After Labour won power last year it launched the Casey Review of adult social care to tackle the thorny issue of how the country should pay to care for its elderly. The first phase is expected to be complete by 2026 and will focus on changes that can be made over the medium term within existing resources. The second phase will report by 2028 and will consider 'the long-term transformation of adult social care'. The Government has been criticised for delaying fundamental reform of social care until the next Parliament. Delivering the review's recommendations may be dependent on Labour winning a second term in power. Lib Dem carers spokesperson Alison Bennett MP said: 'The Conservatives' total neglect of social care brought us to this point, but this Labour government is now sitting on its hands. They have kicked fixing social care into the long grass whilst those holding the sector together continue to suffer immeasurably.' A spokeswoman for the Government said: 'Care workers play a vital role in society caring for our most vulnerable and deserve to be paid properly for their hard work. That's why we've launched the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for carers, increased the National Living Wage - worth £1,400 more a year for full-time workers - and delivered the biggest ever rise in the Carer's Allowance earnings threshold. 'We have also launched an independent review into social care to build a National Care Service, which will also look at how we can improve working conditions and retention.'
North Wales Chronicle
14-07-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Nurses' pay severely eroded since 2010
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said its analysis showed that nurses' pay has been 'severely eroded' over the past years, especially for junior staff. The report was published as tens of thousands of nursing staff vote in the RCN's consultation on this year's pay award, and just days after resident doctors announced they will be taking strike action later this month. The RCN said addressing 'collapsing' wages for those at the start of their careers must be a priority for the Government, especially if it wants to boost recruitment into the profession and deliver its 10 Year Health Plan. Executive director for RCN England, Patricia Marquis, said: 'Nursing staff are tired of playing constant financial catch-up, often struggling to pay rent or get on the housing ladder. 'Nursing is an incredible profession, but we are weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scales and received one of the lowest awards this year, a situation which is deepening the workforce crisis and impacting patient care. Attracting and keeping talented people should be the government's priority, but that requires them to do better on nursing pay. 'Our members are voting in their tens of thousands and making their voices heard on this pay award. 'Ministers must realise that the only sensible choice left to them to negotiate directly with the largest health care workforce. It is time to both deliver better pay and pay modernisation for nursing staff.'
Rhyl Journal
14-07-2025
- Health
- Rhyl Journal
Nurses' pay severely eroded since 2010
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said its analysis showed that nurses' pay has been 'severely eroded' over the past years, especially for junior staff. The report was published as tens of thousands of nursing staff vote in the RCN's consultation on this year's pay award, and just days after resident doctors announced they will be taking strike action later this month. The RCN said addressing 'collapsing' wages for those at the start of their careers must be a priority for the Government, especially if it wants to boost recruitment into the profession and deliver its 10 Year Health Plan. Executive director for RCN England, Patricia Marquis, said: 'Nursing staff are tired of playing constant financial catch-up, often struggling to pay rent or get on the housing ladder. 'Nursing is an incredible profession, but we are weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scales and received one of the lowest awards this year, a situation which is deepening the workforce crisis and impacting patient care. Attracting and keeping talented people should be the government's priority, but that requires them to do better on nursing pay. 'Our members are voting in their tens of thousands and making their voices heard on this pay award. 'Ministers must realise that the only sensible choice left to them to negotiate directly with the largest health care workforce. It is time to both deliver better pay and pay modernisation for nursing staff.'
