To ask band 5 nurses (at lower end of pay scale) how much you earn?

[Llbarls81]

I've just done a calculation as I'm due to qualify in September and I'm shocked at how little the pay is!! I've just worked out that a band 5 entry level nurse takes home around £1400 a month?? Surely this isn't right?

The thing I think a lot of people forget about nurses is , they save your life , if the shit hit's the fan , especially on a weekend or bank holiday , it is a nurse who is going to notice , it is a nurse who will be demanding a doctor comes and see's you ASAP , it is a nurse who will escalate it to the consultant/CEO if they think your life is at risk and no bugger is listening , the doctor will be covering many wards at this point and almost certainly won't be on yours , it is the nurse who gives you oxygen , who gives you any medication you need , who starts the chest compressions , who drags the resus trolley down the corridor , counting the minutes until the team arrives and tries to keep you going until they do . We are the people who are there 24/7 trying to make sure you live or if you cannot live , die with a bit of dignity .

Considering the responsibility and minimum three years training it's very low. Lower than teachers and police officers. I know someone that answers phones, no degree etc for a housing assosiation and gets 22K.

It should at least be equal to a police officers wage. But then the police is still a male orientated job and nursing a women's, it may not sit well with people but it's true. Female ordinated jobs often pay less.

Bear, starting salary for the police was posted below. It's 19k, 2k less than a nurse.

I also think it's partly so low because people in general seem to think nursing it just caring for people, bedside nursing, give injections and such. They don't understand the knowledge behind everything they do, or the sheer expanse of the role now.

I'm a band seven and guess who I go to to recommend a different dressing for my pt. Yep, a nurse. They'll explain the pros and cons whether it be this dressing reduces risk of infection or this dressing dries a wound out, how the wound is healing what it needs to do what stage it is at how to progress further. This takes a lot of know how and it's just one of the very vast pools of knowledge. I couldn't even begin to list what they know.

I have a lot of respect for nurses which is why I use my somewhat privilege position (in the NHS) to support them fully. I wouldn't be where I am now without the help of nurses. My patients wouldn't be healthy were it not for them.

I always chuckle at Holby and it's ever attendant doctors . Sorry for the rant but I don't think a lot of people realise how crucial your nurse is post op or in any other area of nursing , it isn't a doctor doing half hourly obs , it is a nurse and you are relying on that nurse to notice anything untoward and then escalate it , if they don't and something goes wrong , well the doctor will see your stone cold corpse on ward round in the morning . That is quite a responsibility , significantly more than most of the highest paid people in the country , and those people even with the best private health care will still be relying on a nurse to keep them safe .

Nobody would deny that nurses often have a difficult and important job. Some are incredible and worth their weight in gold.

All I, and I assume the others, are saying is that the starting salary is pretty decent in the current climate where many graduates are working for minimum wage.

With nursing, you are guaranteed to work your way up the scale even if you don't go up a band, and be on an above average salary. You can be earning 40-50k if you do go up the bands.

Carers getting paid minimum wage is a more disgraceful situation than nurses being on the average salary, IMO.

If wages were going up then nurses should definitely be in line for more money, but they aren't. In comparison to similar jobs (police, social workers, paramedics, firefighters) they are paid comparatively well/fairly.

FRUMPET YES !
Sorry but fucking Holby has a lot to answer for- doctors telling senior nurses when to go for a break - doctors don't bloody manage nurses !

Its never ever mentioned that the most senior person in charge of any hospital day or night is a nurse , the day/night manager - they have ultimate authority over any other person in the Trust/Hospital when they are in that role( its usually one they rotate into)

Aye I guess it depends on your idea of important really , lot's of things are important to people , but to be still be living and breathing in the morning, I imagine comes pretty high up the scale for most folks

And that is where people are often misinformed about how important a nurses role actually is , how good your nurse is can be a matter of life and death .

But you are absolutely right when it comes to the shockingly poor pay that we pay the people who we expect to care for societies most at risk citizens , no argument there .

I know what my oldest son earns, he has his degree in business and is a financial para planner whatever the heck that is graduated in 2010 and is earning just about £30,000 a year flexi hours 40 per week. I know he's smart but most 2010 grad nurses I know are still on band 5 and earn no where near this, this is as much as a junior sister and most nurses don't get past staff nurse.

I suppose it depends where you live.

Here in my little corner of the North East, £21k is a great salary in a sea of NMW zero hours contracts. But then, housing costs are low, childcare is reasonably priced and people are more likely to still live near their parents so may get assistance with childcare from them as well.

On the other hand, we also have a huge amount of home carers who are also no doubt making decisions that could save their clients lives and working awful hours on NMW.

All relative, I suppose.

Pretty disgraceful that qualified nurses who need to know heaps of life saving information have such a low earning threshold! Hats off to all of you. I know nurses put their all into their job and I really think there should be more to take away for your troubles.

Thinking about my previous post, not sure if it is an argument for privitisation or not?

Aye
Actually, just jumping back into this thread as a HCP who posted earlier.
DS2 graduated almost 2 years ago & has been training with a Big4 accountancy firm for his ACA.
This busy season (& the last) he has worked exceedingly long hours regularly in London (recently until 2am & 3am two mornings running & still expected to be in the office by 9 am the next day).
To my mind similar pay & heavy hours to junior doctors pay. No overtime at all. Occasional drinks & a posh meal paid for by a partner.
Don't like to rub it in too much that I was working 24 hour shifts as a HCP in London in the eighties in the NHS (albeit that we had a bedroom down a creepy underground corridor, past the mortuary & hospital notes that we had to negotiate on call if we made it for a kip with a bleep next to us)

Privatisation isn't the answer. You only have to look at the pitiful social care care sector to see that. Profit above all else.
Of course the government want to make it look like its impossible to keep the NHS a in public hands, it plays straight into their plans.

It just reflects the market. Every teenager can go on line and search the entry requirements to become a doctor and earnings of GPs, surgeons, actuaries, dust bin men and make their choices. No one is forced into particular careers. It is easier to become a nurse than a surgeon and more people meet the minimum entry requirements so nurses are paid less.

I have 3 graduate children and the life of a nurse would be a doddle compared with the hours some of them have worked and work (eg 4 weekends in 6 all day no over time at all) ( 43 hours without a break and no sleep over a Christmas etc etc ). You takes your money and makes your choice...... for those lucky enough to have any job at all of course.

I agree that nurses are underpaid considering what they do and what they have to deal with as well as the responsibilities they undertake. However the wages are as advertised....you don't have to do it and as much as it might be a calling if you're bothered about the money, try training to be a doctor

If people didn't go into nursing because the wages weren't great then the wages would change. supply and demand.

Ps I still think the shift system is a ridiculous way of working but I don't work in nhs so can't comment.

I agree with Lotus. I was with my dad round the clock when he was very ill in hospital. While many of them were very caring and considerate none of them made critical decisions about my dads care or were of any guidance when we asked questions about his condition.

What would be better then? We're a 24 hour service.

itsadinosaur...not sure if you are asking me that question?
If so then I know it's a 24 hour service but I do think shorter shifts throughout various stages of the day would work better that 12/14/16 hour pressurised shifts on a knackered nurse/doctor?

It was yes. Lots of places do shorter shifts, I used to do them. But you end up doing lots, 7 in a row or 10. Long shifts (12 hours) are tiring but you do less of them, so more days off! Although the shift pattern can be awful.

I am a nhs cleaner, top of bank 2 and on £9.00 per hour

I think a 12 hour shift for a nurse or doctor is too long.
8 hour shifts maximum.