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The changing of the clocks is always a welcome sign that we are entering springtime – with the promise of warmer times, longer days and shoots of green. But as we spring forward, it appears we also fall back into a familiar routine – the NHS pay awards for nursing staff across the UK are late.  

There was no mention of nursing pay in the Chancellor’s spring statement last week, even though over half a million nursing staff working in the NHS should have received a pay rise from 1 April, when the new financial year began. But sadly, despite the Health Secretary sharing the government’s intentions to make the pay award by now, we are still waiting. 

In Scotland, negotiations over NHS pay are ongoing. While in Northern Ireland and Wales, decisions made by Westminster have an impact on the funding respective governments receive to cover nursing pay in health and social care.  

For overseas nursing support workers this potentially has even more serious consequences, leaving them at risk of being ineligible for their visa renewals. Changes to visa rules announced by the Home Office due to come into effect on 9 April mean that entry-level band 3 staff will become ineligible for visa renewals until a revised pay scale is in place. So every day that passes without an offer has potentially devastating consequences for those affected. I’ve written to home secretary Yvette Cooper MP warning that unless the next pay award brings band 3s back above this threshold, it risks making this change permanent.  

And for those working for independent health and social care employers, increased employer national insurance contributions come into force this month. This can’t be used to justify low or late pay awards by your employer. If you’re seeing this happen, get in touch with your 九游体育 rep or local office.  

And don't forget, you can use our employment standards to advocate for the pay and working conditions you and your colleagues deserve. 

Just last week I told MPs and peers in Westminster that we need investment in the nursing profession in order to eradicate corridor care. A lack of consistent investment in nursing has left us without enough staff to keep people well at home or to deal with the pressures this puts on hospitals. The tragic result is patients lining corridors, a symptom of a system that is failing. It’s no surprise that despite the continued best efforts of nursing staff, public satisfaction with the NHS is at its lowest on record.  

While we are a year on from the Safe Staffing Act being enacted in Scotland, the Act alone will not resolve the pressures on nursing staff and more work is required -pressures that are replicated across the UK. If governments across the UK are serious about ending corridor care, we need action at a greater pace and investment in nursing at a greater scale. As a profession, we need to be recognised and rewarded fairly, for our safety-critical role in patient care. 

Last week I was also in Westminster to tell the Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSCSC) about the vital role of nursing in the future of the NHS. The abolition of NHS England is going to mean a shift in accountability but what it absolutely must not mean is a loss of nursing staff and nursing expertise. There are a number of non-patient facing corporate nursing roles across NHS providers and ICBs, that provide valuable clinical expertise in the design, commissioning and delivery of services. It would be a mistake to lose this expertise simply to reduce corporate costs. These roles are vital to delivery of safe and effective services in health and care.  

While there may be opportunities to do things differently, any successful changes will only be possible if nursing staff are consulted and involved. The expertise of the nursing profession needs to be listened to because we know how our time is best spent – with our patients. I look forward to hearing the Health Secretary’s response to the questions from this session when he appears in front of the HSCSC next week.  

We are now just over a month away from Congress, if you haven’t booked your free place, . There’s still time to submit an emergency agenda item for Congress, and to join us to debate the big issues facing our profession. I look forward to seeing you there. 

And finally, Monday marks World Health Day, this year focusing on maternal and newborn health. Nursing staff have a huge part to play in the health of mothers and babies around the world, giving skilled care to patients from their first breath. Nursing professionals make up 50% of the global healthcare workforce and their importance cannot be overstated. I want to thank the nursing workforce for their contribution to health care globally – we are the 24/7 presence in patient care.