to think this is not how we should be treating our nurses and mw's?

[VictoriaWould]

telegraph
They've had a pay freeze for 2 years, are contributing more to their pensions, working harder because of the staff cuts and now they want to sack them if they don't agree to an appalling drop in conditions and pay.

Is this how we really want to treat our hard working frontline HCP's?

Its a disgrace.

I seriously hope if the staff are sacked they all stick together and noone applys for a job until usual pay levels are agreed upon. If people all did this it wouldn't take many days of a hospital having no staff at all - from portes, cleaners, Drs, nurses, etc, for the exec board to realise that having a hospital with no staff is quite serious.

they do this because they know these are caring people who won't let patients suffer by saying up yours and walking out, so they can do it.

it is disgusting to take advantage like that. I wish they would all do as you suggest, Viva, but they won't. They'll care about the people who could potentially suffer as a result too much to leave a hospital with no staff.

I'm probably a hard hearted bitch but as a midwife I'd do it.

It would only take a day or two for the board to change their mind. If people/babies died in that time then I'm sorry but that's the board's fault not mine!

It makes me feel sick for myself and colleagues.

I sometimes wonder why I bothered to take 4 years out of working, to study and become a Midwife when all these People sat in offices want to shaft us even more.

Anyone can feel free to sign this petition

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36063

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36063

YANBU

All the people who make the decisions on their pay and conditions have private health care..........

I'm amazed that this could even be legal. Is it not counted as 'breach of contract' or something? Unfair dismissal?

Thunderboltkid, maybe they ought to look at other ways of being more efficient. This isn't every hospital, its one particular group of hospitals. If other hospitals can manage then it is possible. They've ballsed their finances up and are now looking at an easy option.

As an NHS worker I see money being wasted at a rate of knots.

For instance we had a new computer system, my trust must have spent hundreds of thousands of £ on software development, etc. Every member of staff, office staff, nurses, receptionists, clerks had two days of training each. Then they decided not to implement the system.

I could tell story after story of things like this.

I do like the innocence of "everyone is suffering"

I know a great big group of people who aren't.

And oddly enough, they're the ones making all the decisions that the rest of us are suffering for!

When I see those people joining us in this 'suffering', I'll believe we're all in it together!

Like viva I could sit and reel stories of how money is wasted.

Morale is low already, then you hear of the managers going off on 'bonding' days. Usually to top places where food and drinks are provided all day.

I could go on.

What viva and empty said.

Can I just make the point that this is not just nurses affected by this. There are loads of professions in the NHS - physios, pharmacists, technicians, etc.

The public all know who nurses and doctors are and other professions often lose out as they don't get the same public support.

Hmm. Thunder how about this.

Agency staff are paid a night rate of about £75 per hour. When the wards are short of staff, why not offer your own staff a better rate as an incentive to work that extra shift. Even at double time it would come in at less then double than that of agency staff.

But no they won't do that.

I do work extra shifts. Weekends help bump my wages up at the current rate, so it's justifiable to spend 13 hours way from my family. If they want to cut overtime rates then I doubt very much I'll bother as often as I do now.

Before I became a midwife I turned up on a ward to do some support work (hca type role) and was sent home as they had overbooked staff, so they kept the agency staff at triple the rate I was working for (about £6 per hour) and sent me home.

I said I wouldn't go on. I have a bit havent I

It's just bloody dangerous to screw over key health professionals like this. I gave birth at a hospital with a 20% vacancy rate in midwives, in an area where there was a huge baby boom - it was bedlam and the worst experience of my life.

I think myself bloody lucky that my son and I are fine...not sure I'll ever put myself through it again though.

Imagine how much worse it'll get.

They are reducing our lunch break from 45 mins to 30 mins. This break is unpaid, so don't know why they are doing this. When you are on your feet all day, that extra 15 mins sit down makes a difference (especially at my age).

Nurses are getting older. I think it is a cunning plan to kill nurses whilst they are still working so they don't have to pay our pensions!!!

WTF is a 'lunch break'?

I am an nhs worker, my job is a ward domestic. I always think that why have I got managers and supervisors. IMO if I was hire directly by the ward. The ward Clark can order my stores and my pay would come out of the ward budget directly. I know the ward has to pay for cleaners anyway so cut out the middle man.

Sauvignon - I know what you mean. When I worked on the wards we did not get one, work elsewhere now, so most days get what we are entitled to (by law).

If they start bringing in these changes, lower pay etc nurses and other health staff should get more bolshie and start taking their lunch breaks etc.

I am in the area that this is currently affecting. My husband also works in the hospital. They are talking about a pay deal that could equate a 15% pay cut.

They've also paid around £200,000 of money that should be used for patient care to join the 'consortium'. www.unisonsouthwest.org.uk/campaigns/SWNHSPayCartel.ashx

We both feel sick.

I love my job. I love my patients. I love caring for them. I feel completely worthless and unvalued.

I'm actually thinking of going self employed and working as an agency midwife.

I can earn 4x what I do as a standard midwife. The pay rates for agency staff are unreal. But for some reason hospitals will pay agency rates rather than sorting out chronic short staffing issues. Nearly all our scrub nurses are agency, they all handed their notice in and came back a few months later on agency when they realised how much they could earn. They work full time on agency so it's not like it's the odd shift here and there.