Agenda for Change: NHS Pay Restraint

Debate between Catherine McKinnell and Rupa Huq

Monday 30th January 2017 Westminster Hall

[Catherine McKinnell]

The hon. Gentleman makes another valid point. I hope that the Minister is listening, because although we are focusing specifically today on pay restraint for Agenda for Change staff, there is a much wider issue for the Government to take on board. A variety of factors is affecting recruitment and retention of NHS staff. The axing of bursaries is just one significant factor that the Government should seriously examine, and reverse.

What has the pay restraint for Agenda for Change staff meant to individual nurses, midwives, paramedics, cleaners and other healthcare professionals since 2011? Depending on the measure of inflation used, it has resulted in a drop in real-terms earnings of up to 14%. To put that in context, the trade union Unison has calculated that it is equivalent to annual pay cuts of £2,288 for a cleaner, £4,846 for a nurse, £6,134 for a midwife and £8,364 for a clinical psychologist. Indeed, ahead of the 2017-18 NHS pay review process, Unison surveyed its members working in the NHS and received the following responses, which are a matter of deep concern: nearly two thirds felt worse off than they did 12 months ago; 49% had asked for financial support from family or a friend; 13% had used a debt advice service; 11% had pawned possessions; 11% had used a payday loan company; 15% had moved to a less expensive home or remortgaged their house; and just under one fifth took on paid work in addition to their main NHS job, 64% of whom did so because their NHS salary was not enough to meet their basic living costs. More than 80% said they had considered leaving the NHS in the past year.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Does she share the concerns of the London nurses at the lunchtime lobby today, who said that punitive London housing costs are making the situation even more acute? They feel that they are being forced out of the capital, which needs nurses, and that what is happening is almost social cleansing by the back door, pricing nurses out of our city.

[Catherine McKinnell]

Yes, I share those concerns, particularly about the significant shortage of nurses in London. The issue affects places throughout the country, but I fully appreciate the acuteness of the situation in London.

The findings that I have set out are mirrored in the most recent Royal College of Nursing employment survey of its members. It found that 30% had struggled to pay gas and electricity Bills, 14% had missed meals because of financial difficulties, 53% had been compelled to work extra hours to increase earnings, and 32% were working extra night and weekend shifts to help pay bills and meet everyday living expenses. The RCN stated:

“This corresponds with our year on year increase of 30%, over the past five years, on the number of our members seeking specialist money advice from our RCN Welfare Service. This contact from our members focuses predominantly on dealing with unmanageable consumer debt.”

It is shocking and depressing stuff. It is bad enough that the Government continually expect NHS staff, many of whom are at breaking point, to do more with less and treat more patients with fewer resources in what are usually physically and psychologically demanding roles, but to expect them to do so while they face such anxiety and stress over their own financial situation is completely unacceptable.

We do not need to take Unison or the RCN’s word for what is happening. I have received emails containing powerful testimony from NHS staff in my constituency. One explained:

“I have been qualified as a children’s staff nurse for 12 years and I reached the top of my pay scale four years ago. I have not had a pay rise since. 4-5 years ago I was in a comfortable position, I could afford the basics and if I wanted extras like holidays or treats I would just do overtime or extra shifts to afford these luxuries. However, due to the fact my pay against my cost of living has reduced by 14%, I now struggle to afford the basics and am having to do extra shifts just to be able to provide food and pay my bills… I am missing out on valuable time with my family as I have to work nearly every weekend in order to be able to get a wage that can cover our costs. It is now becoming such a stretch each month that I may have to leave nursing and find a job that pays me better... Working as a children’s nurse in a busy A&E unit is amazing and worthwhile, but it is very stressful. On a daily basis we deal with and see things that are devastating and can be difficult to switch off from. Our pay should reflect this.”

Another constituent challenged the claim made in the Government’s response to the e-petition:

“Average earnings for qualified nurses were £31,214 in the 12 months to June 2016”.

She described herself as an average nurse in her 40s with a partner and a child:

“I have been qualified and working in the NHS for 11 years. I don’t earn £31,214. The top of my band (band 5) is £28,464. So, I am paid about £14.50 an hour to clean up faeces, vomit, blood and other bodily fluids. To hold the hands of patients who are dying. To comfort the relatives of patients who are dying. To maintain complicated machinery/equipment that is keeping a person alive whilst watching the newly-qualified staff nurse who doesn’t feel confident and make sure they don’t do anything dangerous.”

Another constituent painted a very concerning picture about her financial situation. She recently qualified as a nurse—a year and four months ago. She is a single parent of three children, and commented:

“After studying hard for 3 years mixing university, placements and guided learning, I gained my degree only to find myself in more dire financial circumstances than I was as a student.

I live to a tight budget, I drive a car that is 16 years old, I don’t smoke or drink, and I rarely socialise with my friends unless it’s a special occasion. This month I was paid £1,450 after tax—from that £300 is childcare; £400 is rent; leaving £750 for the month covering gas, water, phone, food, insurance etc. I also receive £35 tax credits a week which covers my daughter’s bus fare to college and her lunch money.

I am a qualified professional and yet I would class myself as being on the breadline. I know there are others in greater need than I am; however I feel like I work hard and sacrifice my family time for nothing.”

Finally, a senior sister with 30 years’ experience in an acute trauma unit explained:

“After six years of pay restraint, I now see nurses struggling day to day to make ends meet. Those who have stayed are now planning to leave the NHS early and newly qualified nurses are unable to stay without reasonable remuneration.

I feel like I grieve every day for my profession now. We have an NHS workforce currently willing to work as hard as the service asks them, but this goodwill is now eroding faster than I have ever seen in all my years’ service.

I am retiring within a couple of years. This request comes not for me, but for those who come after me and who will be caring for me and my family in the future.”

It is clear that our NHS is facing a crisis, yet the people the Government entirely rely on to make the NHS work are being badly let down. Nobody would suggest for a minute that those working in the health service do it for the money. However, we have reached a situation in which nurses, midwives and other invaluable NHS staff are struggling to pay their bills or put food on the table, or are pawning their possessions or taking out high-interest loans just to get from one month to the next.

How can we expect people to continue to provide high-quality care to us and our loved ones in what are already increasingly challenging circumstances when they are also facing this level of stress and anxiety at home? I strongly urge the Government to look at this situation again and to take on board the concerns being raised not only by organisations such as Unison, the RCN and the RCM, but by NHS frontline staff who are saying loud and clear that this pay restraint simply cannot continue.