Stronger together UNISON NHS Glasgow Clyde & CVS Branch Government imposes massive cuts!

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1 Stronger together UNISON NHS Glasgow Clyde & CVS Branch Government imposes massive cuts!

2 Stronger Together is published by UNISON NHS Glasgow Clyde and CVS Branch Empire House 4th Floor 131 West Nile Street Glasgow G1 2RX Telephone Number EDITORIAL Remember if you move, or if your personal/work circumstances change you should tell UNISON. You can do this by contacting the branch on Inside LEAD STORY Government impose huge cuts to NHS Glasgow and Clyde POLICY Working time, a safety issue NEWS l Pay success for Health Care Support Workers Thanks to: Everyone who con tributed and all for their time and effort Issue: Winter 2016 Design & Layout: John Snow and the White Walker Printed by: Hampden Advertising Ltd l Electronic record keeping staff and patients at risk l Revalidation: a quick guide l Four Seasons sell off l Anti abortion UNISON member speaks out l One team for patient care SEND US YOUR NEWS AND VIEWS Stronger Together is your newsletter. To make it more representative of members, we need you to send us your views! Send us a letter, an article or just send us your views on any issues that you feel the branch should be addressing, alternatively have we printed something you disagree with then let us know! CONTACT OR FOLLOW US AT: NHS Glasgow and Clyde UNISON Branch magazine@unisonglasgowclyde.com NHSGGC_UNISON_CVS 2

3 Government imposes 60m more cuts on NHS Glasgow and Clyde Bosses at NHS Glasgow and Clyde have confirmed that the budget allocated to them from the Scottish Government will require a 60m cut in expenditure in UNISON Branch Secretary Cathy Miller said, This latest austerity budget from Westminster and the SNP Government in Scotland confirms what UNISON members already know, there is no protection for the NHS. We ve had austerity by stealth for more than a decade and now there is nothing left to cut except services and staff. This was confirmed in a paper considered by senior managers in late 2015, which listed the following as key considerations for meeting the cuts: l Workforce is our biggest cost, to deliver this savings target we need to reduce the numbers of staff we have and establish a lower unit costs ways of delivering services. l We need to deliver the same level of service for less cost to continue to meet the needs of patients while reducing spending. l We need to reshape services and reduce sites and facilities to deliver our savings but maintain services to patients. Specific proposals contained in the paper include: l Extended redundancy programme to support reduction of posts in these areas. l Increase patient contact by staff, in areas such as AHP, Community Nursing and Physio whilst reducing staffing. l Service changes including increased volumes of work at ACAD s; closure of Lightburn Hospital and removal of emergency care from Vale of Leven to RAH in Paisley. UNISON has called for an urgent meeting with NHS bosses and has indicated that they should not presume that UNISON will support these proposals adding that this approach could challenge the very foundations of the current industrial relations model. Cathy Miller added, This is an extensive document and there is as much to be read between the lines as is on the paper, but it is clear that the next phase of austerity cuts will significantly impact of staffing levels, staffing models and ways of working. UNISON will fight tooth and nail to defend our members and ensure that we deliver safe and efficient services. 3

4 UNISON delivers on low pay agenda with 2718 pay increase for members UNISON has secured another significant breakthrough in the union s attempts to eradicate low pay in the public sector after NHS bosses agreed to undertake a review of the roles and responsibilities of staff on Agenda for Change pay Band 1. Whilst the terms of the agreement are still being worked out, the basic principle is that every Health Board including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will work with UNISON and other unions locally to review all Band 1 job descriptions and that every opportunity will be taken to expand these to secure a real pay uplift for the lowest paid workers in the NHS. Working time is health and safety UNISON has again raised concerns with NHS bosses after a report showed that there were still a number of staff working in excess of 48 hours per week. The union is concerned that this practice is bad for staff health, but also that it is being used to mask deep cuts in staffing levels which could affect services and patient care. UNISON Health and Safety Officer Tommy McWilliams said, From the report it seems that there are some staff who are working around 60 hours a week on a regular basis. UNISON appreciates that members are feeling financial pressure and we don t have a problem with folk working extra hours, but working time is a health and safety issue. Working regularly above 48 hours per week, is bad for your health in the long term and with workers expected to work well over 60 it s important that staff get the right balance between earning a wage and having a work life balance. UNISON has raised this issue before concerned that bank staff in particular were being used to hide deep staffing cuts in nursing and facilities. In a recent to the Director of HR, the union advised that UNISON does not support the use of waivers and that continued breaches of the working time directives 48hr week are in our opinion a symptom of understaffing and poor workforce planning. This issue was supposed to be resolved we therefore have diminishing confidence that NHSGGC are committed to ensuring safe work practices or staffing levels. The agreement which has backing at a political level will ensure that an all band 1 staff who wish to transfer to these extended roles will do so by 1st October, 2016 and will see UNISON members increase from 15,358 to 18,103 after progression and pay uplifts. The deal which has been negotiated by UNISON will deliver real increases in pay for almost 8000 workers across NHS Scotland Branch Secretary Cathy Miller said, Once again we ve shown that UNISON delivers on low pay, but we ve still got a lot of work to do to ensure that everyone who wants a Band 2 secures the right job description and that for the very small number of people who don t want a Band 2, that we understand their concerns and protect their position. It s important that UNISON members keep up to date with these developments as they progress and we will be in regular contact over the next few months. Electronic record system puts staff and children at risk UNISON and other unions have compiled a list of complaints around the new EMIS Web system for Health Visitors after members raised concerns that the system didn t work and that personal and professional safety was being compromised. The EMIS web system was billed as the next big thing and is central to management plans to cut staffing across Health Visiting services because staff would be able to gain access to patient records in real time during the patient contact by using ipads which would automatically connect with the NHS systems. In reality the programme has been a shambles with many UNISON members reporting that they can t get connections, that the process is slower than the paper system and that they are having to take notes and complete the process in their cars or at home. Regional Organiser Matt McLaughlin said, Lots of big wigs in NHSGGC have committed to this programme, so it s no wonder that they want to make it work. However, there needs to be an acceptance that it is not working and that children, families and staff are being put at risk by their inability to accept that what they ve been sold is still not fit for purpose. 4

5 Revalidation a quick guide Revalidation is the means by which Nurses, Midwives & Health Visitors renew their professional registration & demonstrate compliance with the code of conduct. They pay an annual registration fee but are required to formally renew their professional registration every three years. What will revalidation mean for me? You will have to evidence reflection and practice against the code of conduct. You will need to demonstrate that the following has been achieved every three years: How do I achieve this? l You must complete 450 hours of clinical practice. l 35 Hours of CPD Study days, learning events, such as conferences or workshops, Peer review, coaching and mentoring, participation in clinical audit, practice visits and group meetings. Only 20 hours have to be participatory. l 5 pieces of Practice related feedback, which can come from a variety of sources, including patients, service users, students and colleagues. Feedback can also be obtained through reviewing complaints, team performance reports and serious event reviews. Feedback can be informal or formal, written or verbal. It could be specific feedback about an individual or feedback about a whole ward, team or organisation. l 5 written reflective accounts that explain what you learnt, how you changed or improved your work as a result and how it is relevant to the Code. You can use the template provided on the NMC website or your own (see full guidance for criteria). You must have a completed reflection and discussion form with the details of the person with whom you had the discussion, this person must be a registrant. l Evidence that your health enables you to practice to the required standard. Good character is now a requirement of the code. You must declare to the NMC any convictions and cautions even if they are not related to nursing or midwifery. Confirmation l You need to demonstrate to a third party that you have met the revalidation requirements l You need to have a confirmation discussion with a third party where you discuss how you have met the revalidation requirements. This can form part of an annual appraisal l An appropriate third party confirmer is your line manager. The NMC recommend that you obtain confirmation from this person wherever possible. A line manager does not have to be an NMC registered nurse or midwife. l If you do not have a line manager, we recommend that the third party is an NMC regidstered nurse or midwife. If that is not possible, you can seek confirmation from another healthcare professional that you work with and who is regulated in the UK. l You must declare that you have, or will have when practising, appropriate cover under an indemnity arrangement. Remember your employer retains vicarious liability for your practice. UNISON information uploads/2014/02/policiesunisons-professional-indemnity- Cover-for-health-staff2.p For information and advice you can contact your local steward or the NMC Four Seasons quietly sells off business UNISON and others are watching to see what happens next with the UK s biggest private care home provider, Four Seasons after it quietly sold of 20m worth of assets to an American hedge fund late in One broadsheet newspaper reported that the company was struggling to meet interest payments and that UK wide the private care home sector is on the verge of collapse as income and profits are squeezed by the NHS and Local Councils. In response a company spokesperson said that the company was not in immediate difficulty and that there was sufficient medium term financial flexibility. However these announcements and reports come at the end of a year, which as saw the company continue to close or sell of homes which require major investment or are not profitable. UNISON Regional Organiser Matt McLaughlin said, Obviously this report came out late in the year at a time when head offices are closed and people are on holiday. Since then UNISON has been in touch with the company and they tell us that there are no problems. UNISON is however aware that staff and members at Four Seasons are concerned and we will continue to engage with the company in a positive manner to try and ensure that our members jobs and the services they provide are protected. 5

6 UNISON member speaks out after anti-abortion picket sets up at maternity hospital NHS union UNISON has welcomed the decision by NHS bosses to stop anti-abortion campaigners from demonstrating outside the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after the union wrote directly to Chief Executive Robert Calderwood. But there is anger that the group 40 days for life have set their vigil on Hardgate Road within sight of the hospital s maternity unit. The British Pregnancy Advice Service said, A group of strangers witnessing women as they access confidential NHS services is a significant invasion of privacy. The vigil or picket as it has been described by some is set to run for the entire 6 weeks of lent, with witnesses carrying large placards that challenge women to reject their right to choose the best decision for them, their families and the baby. Robert Calderwood One UNISON member was so angry she chose to speak to her union and tell her story. Nurse B, works on the new QEUH campus. She is a mother of two, married, and in 2013 was delighted to learn that she was going to have another baby boy in February She describes herself as being angry and upset by the demonstration. Nurse B said, At 20 weeks, my husband and I were given the worst news we could ever have received. Our baby son s kidneys and bladder had not formed. We were told that he would not survive after birth and that if I carried to term I might die. We were devastated, in a matter of days we had gone from joy to heartbreak. How were we going to explain what had happened to our other two children? No matter what we did, our baby son was going to die. Our member and her husband decided to have a medical termination, she added, Trust me, we still feel the pain of knowing our son would be celebrating his 2nd birthday this year. There s not a day goes by when we don t think about him. She said, People have abortions for many different reasons, it s wrong to just assume that they don t want that child because in many cases that is simply not true. We wanted our son very much but God had other plans for him. UNISON Regional Organiser Matt McLaughlin welcomed Nurse B s commitment to speak up, he said, Our member nurse B, has done an incredibly brave thing opening your heart up to others is never easy. It s fine for people to have an opinion on issues, but women should not have to feel that they are running a gauntlet when they have to access these services and they certainly shouldn t have the hard decisions they make questioned in this manner. UNISON one team for patient care UNISON is campaigning to ensure everyone who works in our NHS is valued, whatever role they fill. This campaign aims to promote the message amongst the public, politicians and media of the great work that support staff do every day in the NHS. UNISON knows that all staff no matter what their role play an important part in delivering quality patient care and as part of our campaign, we want to challenge the artificial divide that is created between NHS staff by using language such as frontline and back office. We will continue to be the main union that represents support staff across the NHS, and will campaign against any attacks against on our members working in NHS support services. When people think of the NHS, they probably think of doctors, nurses and paramedics. But what about the rest of the NHS workforce who work behind the scenes and carry out hundreds of Continues on page 7 6

7 UNISON one team for patient care Continued from page 6 different roles every day to make sure that patients and their families get the best treatment possible? We want to promote the message that all NHS staff, whatever their job, play an important role in delivering quality patient care in their own different ways. Without cleaning staff wards wouldn t be safe for patients and their families, without finance staff the bills wouldn t get paid and without stores staff, essential healthcare supplies wouldn t be delivered on time to the right wards. Branch Secretary Cathy Miller said I think support staff are sometimes forgotten about. When you hear politicians and the public mentioning the NHS it is always doctors and nurses, but there is more to it than that. There are domestic staff, as well as porters and admin staff who never really get a mention but play an important part and most are on low pay. You always hear how the clinicians are important to the NHS, but the backbone of the NHS are those who make their jobs easier and keep it running, for example secretarial and admin staff who are the forgotten workforce. The NHS couldn t operate without admin staff who are responsible for booking patient appointments and dealing with patient records, it needs maintenance staff who make sure that hospital buildings are safe and in working order, and managers who work to ensure that everything runs smoothly. We think it s unfair that NHS support staff don t always get the recognition that they deserve, and think it s high time that people and politicians stood up and took notice of the valuable contribution that these staff make. Tell us your story at our-campaigns/one-team-for-patient-care/ NHS Glasgow Clyde & CVS Branch UNISON AGM Thursday 3rd March pm for 7.00pm start Glasgow Central Hotel Speakers UNISON National Officers Including Hustings with Representatives from Labour : SNP : Conservative : Lib Dem : Green Various posts are up for election Come along and cast your votes on the night 7

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