Latest news with #NicolaRanger
The Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
NHS nurses set to join doctors' miserable 5-day walk out after ‘rejecting latest pay deal'
NURSES are poised to reject a pay rise from the Government- paving the way for fresh NHS strike chaos. The Royal College of Nursing is understood to have 'overwhelmingly' voted down the 3.6 per cent offer in an indicative ballot, warning it will be 'entirely swallowed up by inflation'. 2 2 But while the majority backed action, turnout fell short of the 50 per cent legal threshold needed to trigger a walkout. It means more disruption may still be on the cards if the union pushes for a full vote. A union spokesman said: 'The results will be announced to our members later this week. As the largest part of the NHS workforce, nursing staff do not feel valued and the government must urgently begin to turn that around.' It comes as thousands of resident doctors in England, previously known as junior doctors, kicked off a five-day strike on Friday after pay talks between the Government and the British Medical Association collapsed. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said disruption to the NHS was not possible to eliminate but insisted it was being kept to a minimum. The RCN represents hundreds of thousands of frontline nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland's nurses have already accepted a separate two-year deal worth 8 per cent, keeping them the best-paid in the UK. Nurses were offered less than almost every other public sector group this year. Doctors, teachers, armed forces and prison officers are all getting more. RCN boss Prof Nicola Ranger has led calls for fairer pay and warned that ministers are ignoring a growing crisis in the profession. She fumed last month: 'Nursing is an incredible career, but despite being the most valued profession by the public we continue to be weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scale.' Speaking at a global conference in Helsinki, she added: 'I'm with nurses from around the world asking why it is our ministers in the UK who have once again put nursing at the back of the queue when it comes to pay.' More than 26,000 nurse roles are currently vacant, with student recruitment collapsing and resignations 'skyrocketing', the union says. Nurses made history in winter 2022-23 by walking out for the first time ever - holding four separate two-day strikes. But the RCN failed to secure a new strike mandate in 2023 after a re-ballot missed the 50 per cent turnout threshold. Members have now rejected three government offers in a row: 5 per cent in 2023-24, 5.5 per cent last year, and now 3.6 per cent for 2025.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Nurses to reject pay deal amid warnings of new NHS strikes
Nurses are to reject the Government's pay offer, raising the prospect of further strikes across the NHS. The independent pay review body has offered nurses a pay rise of 3.6 per cent for this year, which is less than the increases offered to junior doctors or consultants. The Telegraph understands nurses have 'overwhelmingly' rejected the offer, but turnout in the indicative ballot was below the 50 per cent needed to trigger industrial action. The result comes after weeks of internal unrest, with The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) officials calling the offer 'grotesque' and warning it would be 'entirely swallowed up by inflation'. The RCN has been holding a consultative vote on their 3.6 per cent pay increase, and the results are expected later this week. A union spokesman said: 'The results will be announced to our members later this week. As the largest part of the NHS workforce, nursing staff do not feel valued and the government must urgently begin to turn that around.' Doctors, teachers, prison officers and the armed forces will all be receiving a bigger increase than nurses. Resident doctors, formerly junior doctors, were told they would be getting 5.4 per cent on average on top of the 22 per cent rise they received last year. The RCN vote will include members working in the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland, where nurses accepted an 8 per cent rise over two years, to remain the best-paid in the UK. Prof Nicola Ranger, the RCN's general secretary, has repeatedly called for ministers to recognise the value of the nursing workforce, warning that pay erosion has driven thousands to leave the profession. 'Nursing is an incredible career, but despite being the most valued profession by the public we continue to be weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scale,' Ms Ranger said last month. Speaking at an international nursing conference in Helsinki, Finland, she said: 'I'm with nurses from around the world asking why it is our ministers in the UK who have once again put nursing at the back of the queue when it comes to pay.' According to the union, there are more than 26,000 unfilled nursing posts, while student recruitment has 'collapsed' and the number quitting is 'skyrocketing'. Nurses last walked off the job in the winter of 2022–23 which was the first strike action in NHS history, staging four separate two-day walkouts. However, the union lost its strike mandate in 2023 after failing to meet the 50 per cent turnout threshold in a re-ballot. Its members previously voted to reject the 5.5 per cent pay award for 2024-25 last year, as well as the 5 per cent in 2023-24, the year before.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Nurses' views should be heard - Jersey's health minister says
Nurses should have more say over the future of the health service, Jersey's health minister has said. Deputy Tom Binet said that nurses have an important contribution to make as the "people who are hands-on". It comes after he met with Nicola Ranger, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), who visited the island on Wednesday and said it was "vital" for nurses to sit in during senior to her comments, Binet agreed, stating: "As a principle, I think it is extremely good and I think it's something we should be adopting even more than we are doing already." Ms Ranger described her visit and meeting with Binet as positive, adding that she felt her "message was really heard".Binet said: "I've been in business for many years, and I've found as the organisation gets bigger, by going back to the ground floor, you can often find out where the problems are."
Medscape
4 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Nursing Course Applications Hit Record Low, UCAS Reveals
Applications to study nursing in the UK have slumped to their lowest level since records began, prompting renewed warnings over NHS staffing. The most recent figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show 37,170 applications to study nursing in 2025 – a 30% drop compared with 2021, when figures peaked at 53,280. The data to the end of June showed a continued downward trend since the current collection methods began in 2019. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) described the figures as 'devastating news for the 10-Year Health Plan' and urged the government to 'get a grip' on the staffing crisis. 'New Deal' for Students Needed Nicola Ranger 'Students can see that nursing is one of the most undervalued professions in the NHS,' said Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive. 'Those pursuing the career face poverty during study and sky-high debt on graduation, only to endure low pay and a lack of career progression once they start work. This cannot go on.' Ranger called for 'a new deal for nursing students' to tackle the crisis. This should include 'loan forgiveness for those who commit to working in the NHS and public services, alongside universal, uplifted maintenance grants, and guaranteed jobs after graduation.' The RCN is currently consulting its 345,000 members on whether this year's 3.6% pay award is sufficient, with the ballot due to close this weekend. The college recently published an analysis showing that starting salaries for nurses are now £8000 lower than they would be if wages had kept pace with inflation since 2010. Challenging Stereotypes The University of East Anglia (UEA) is hoping to increase the appeal of a career in nursing for young people through its This Nurse Can campaign. The initiative highlights the breadth of nursing careers on offer and challenges stereotypes about the profession. It features nurses working in diverse roles, including air ambulance services, cruise ships, and ophthalmology. Simon Rose Simon Rose, a paramedic and UEA's director of admissions and recruitment, launched the campaign after becoming concerned by the year-on-year decline in applications to study nursing, as well as regional figures showing a sharper drop than the national trend. While working as a paramedic, he quickly discovered 'there are quite fixed views of what a paramedic and what a nurse is,' he told Medscape News UK . 'Nurses are often seen as working on a ward or in a hospital and while that can be true, careers in nursing have really expanded. I don't think people are necessarily aware of the diverse range of employment options there is.' UEA has already seen higher engagement at open days, although Rose said it was too early to judge whether applications would rise. 'What we have had over the last 3 or 4 years is year-on-year decreases and failing to hit our targets,' he added. 'Sometimes, when you're in a year-on-year deficit, just to hit target is a result and we're forecasting for this at the minute. But if you have a year where there is an issue with A-level grades, for example, that can change everything. Admissions is quite a difficult one to predict at this stage.' Early Engagement Matters Lorna Mayles Lorna Mayles, the RCN's professional lead for students, described the decline in applications as 'really disheartening'. She said that student members enjoy working alongside registered nurses and appreciate the variety of placements on offer, ranging from residential care and schools to hospitals and GP practices. 'Nursing is such an incredible career, and it offers many opportunities,' Mayles said. 'It's important we break down some of those stereotypes that exist in the media that can portray nurses as being women in uniform.' She added: 'Anyone can be a nurse. You can come from a diverse background or enter nursing as a second career. It's a career that is open to everyone.' Mayles thinks more should be done to promote nursing to children – even in primary schools. 'We need to get people thinking much earlier that nursing is a potential career opportunity,' she said. 'It's spreading the word on that positivity much earlier than we currently are.' Calls for Financial Support One possible solution could be a scheme similar to the NHS Wales Bursary, which offers financial support for tuition fees. It also provides a contribution towards living costs for UK students who enrol in an eligible healthcare course, such as nursing in Wales. Students must commit in advance to work in the NHS in Wales for 2 years (for degree students) or 18 months (for diploma students) after they qualify. 'I don't necessarily see a situation where our current government would return to fully funding courses in England,' said Rose. 'Yet, if the NHS could offer a similar initiative to NHS Wales — where nurses would be coming into the NHS for a guaranteed number of years — this would surely be an investment worth supporting.'
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Nurses ramp up strikes threats with ballot over 'grotesque' above-inflation pay deal
Nurses will start voting today on what they have derided as the Government's 'grotesque' 3.6 per cent pay offer as they ramp up the threat of fresh strikes. Around 345,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing are being balloted on the latest pay award, which they have claimed will be 'entirely swallowed up by inflation '. Last month, the Labour Goverment accepted the recommendation of a pay review body to give nursing staff in England's NHS a pay rise of 3.6 per cent. The latest inflation figures showed the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate jumped by more than expected in April to 3.5 per cent. The RCN described the award as 'grotesque', while doctors, teachers, prison officers and the Armed Forces all received a bigger increase. An identical pay award for nurses was made in Wales, while in Northern Ireland, the health minister has announced his wish to also implement a 3.6 per cent rise. RCN members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being asked whether the pay award is enough, amid warnings of yet another industrial dispute. NHS workers, including nurses, staged a series of strikes under the previous Conservative government in bitter rows over pay. Speaking at an international nursing conference in Helsinki today, RCN general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger will say: 'I'm with nurses from around the world today asking why it is our ministers in the UK who have once again put nursing at the back of the queue when it comes to pay. 'Nursing is an incredible career, but despite being the most valued profession by the public we continue to be weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scale and are set to receive one of the lowest pay awards. 'It is time to show that nurses are valued and, from today, hundreds of thousands of nursing staff working in the NHS will give their verdict on whether 3.6% is enough.' The RCN said nursing staff in England have faced more than a decade of pay erosion since 2010/11, with pay down by a quarter in real terms. As a result, there are more than 26,000 unfilled nursing posts, while student recruitment has 'collapsed' and the numbers quitting is 'skyrocketing', said the RCN. Professor Ranger will add: 'Over a decade of pay erosion has had a devastating impact on our profession, forcing increasing numbers into quitting while putting off the nurses of the future. 'When our members vote, they won't just be voting on the fairness of the award for themselves, but if it's enough to turn our profession around.' As well as the threat of strikes by nurses, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is also battling the British Medical Association over the Government's offer of an average 5.4 per cent pay rise for junior doctors.
