The IBMS raises concerns to Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s letter to nurses
The IBMS welcomes the Government’s announcement to work with Unions to resolve the national strike action. However, we note in the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s letter to the Royal College of Nursing that the Government has made an exclusive offer for a separate pay spine for nurses.
We have serious concerns about such a move, which runs contra to the concept of a patient journey involving multiple professional groups, of equal importance to the delivery of care. The recent pandemic was the trigger moment that gave full recognition to the importance of diagnostics as an integral part of the delivery of patient care; to now separate one element of a patient care pathway, namely the nursing profession, from the common pay spine of the other non-medical professions undermines the unifying concept of Agenda for Change and consequently fragments the concept of care being delivered by a continuous multi-profession pathway.
We welcome the end to strike action which is a positive outcome for the NHS as it struggles to recover from the aftermath and the backlog of the pandemic. However, we are concerned that a separate pay spine for nurses could potentially have a negative affect on our profession. Any new pay spine must ensure that other healthcare professions have the same opportunities for career progression, regulation and development. To ensure that are our members voices heard, we will be discussing directly the Government with our concerns as part of our regular meetings with MPs and ministers across the four nations.