Author: UMWEP Admin

Shaun Noble, Friday, October 25th, 2019
Lincolnshire health visitors vote to strike over council’s ‘divide and rule’ jobs move

More than 70 Lincolnshire health visitors have voted by a large majority to strike in the long running pay dispute over county council plans to ‘divide and rule’ over future job roles.

Unite said today (October 26) that strike dates would be announced soon, after the health visitors had voted by 67 per cent to strike.

The dispute has escalated from the first bout of strike action – 32 days since July with the loss of around 450 shifts which centred on health visitors having lost more than £2,000 a year since they were transferred from the NHS – to the council’s current insistence on different contracts for grade 9 and grade 10 health visitors.

The new strike mandate came from not only the health visitors, who have been denied legitimate pay rises by the council since October 2017, but health visitors on the lower grade 9 and higher grade 10.

Unite argues that as all health visitors have the same community nurse qualifications their role is equivalent to a grade 10 job role – and, therefore, they should paid the same rate for the job.

“Our members have voted for strike action by a large majority in this dispute which has seen the county council bosses adopt an unscrupulous ‘divide and rule’ stance over future job roles,” said Unite regional officer Steve Syson.

“We will be announcing strike dates soon, but there is now a real window of opportunity for the county council to enter into constructive talks with Unite to resolve this dispute for the benefit of the families of Lincolnshire and our members.

“We also need to staunch the number of fed-up health visitors leaving the county council for alternative employment where their highly transferrable skills are more valued,” he added.

“Our case is compelling and that is all health visitors have had the same community nurse qualifications and workplace training – and, therefore, they should be on the same grade 10 contracts with the same pay scales after preceptorship for newly qualified health visitors for a period of two years.”

Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands Paresh Patel added, “Once again, the Lincolnshire health visitors are bravely leading the fight for the crisis-hit profession in England to be given the respect and resources they need to carry out their important role in helping families at a crucial time in their children’s development.”

The Lincolnshire dispute, in many respects, mirrors the crisis across England which has seen a 31 per cent drop in health visitor numbers since 2015. There were 7,026 health visitors in England in June this year compared with a peak of 10,309 in October 2015.

Unite represents 76 of the 126 health visitors employed by the county council.

The accelerating privatisation of GP services in London and its detrimental impact on patients will be the focus of a protest in Tower Hamlets on Thursday 21 November.

Health campaigners are increasingly concerned about the activities of the privately-owned GP at Hand, a west London GP practice which is hoovering up NHS patients – an estimated 60,000 in London and Birmingham.

Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union with 100,000 members in the health service, said that GP at Hand, a ‘digital first’ service which replaces the traditional face-to-face visits to local GPs, is ‘cherry picking’ the younger and most wealthy patients.

This is important because 80 per cent of patients, who are more or less well, subsidise services for the 20 per cent who have long-term serious conditions. If the fittest patients are ‘creamed off’ by the private sector, that means less cash for the care of the chronically ill.

East London GPs will at protesting about GP at Hand’s expanding activities outside Newby Place GP surgery, 21 Newby Place, Poplar E14 0EY at 14.00 Thursday 21 November.

Chair of Doctors in Unite and Tower Hamlets GP Dr Jackie Applebee said: “We object to GP at Hand on two main grounds – one that it is draining resources from the NHS to the private sector; and, secondly, it is reducing the resources that GPs have for their more chronically ill and elderly patients.

“We also understand that 25 per cent of GP at Hand patients ditched the company in the 14 months to January 2019, which is not a great advert for the private sector.

“GP at Hand cherry picks the younger, richer patients – but it is not so keen if you are pregnant, have a terminal illness or suffer from mental health problems which need more complex and costly care plans.

“The accelerating rate of the privatisation of the NHS, of which GP at Hand is a prime example, is creating a two-tier health service which undermines the fundamental ethos of the NHS when it was founded in 1948.

“That is why it is important for the residents of east London to come out and protest on 21 November to show that the NHS is not up for sale to privateers.”     

 

 

Notes to editors:

 

For more information please contact Unite senior communications officer Shaun Noble on 020 3371 2060 or 07768 693940. Unite press office is on:  020 3371 2065

Email: shaun.noble@unitetheunion.org

Twitter: @unitetheunion Facebook: unitetheunion1 Web: unitetheunion.org

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.

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Unite, which embraces the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA), has signed an open letter along with leading children’s health organisations and charities, including the NSPCC and the National Childbirth Trust, calling for the next government to take decisive action to remedy the fall in early years care and health visitor numbers.

The letter states:

“We know the first 1,001 days of life are critical for a child’s development. Experiences during pregnancy and early years play a vital role in shaping a child’s brain and can impact their health, wellbeing, learning and behaviour.

“We also know that experiencing difficulties such as mental health problems during this time can make it hard for parents to form the close relationships with their children, that are so crucial for this positive development to happen.

“Whilst over the past week we have heard some encouraging noises from the major political parties on greater perinatal and early years support, it is vital that these commitments are translated into meaningful action by the next government.

“This will require a transformational, fully-costed, cross-government strategy that sets out how all families access the support they need to give their babies the best start in life.

“A core component of this will be a fully-funded workforce development plan that enables well trained and competent frontline staff to provide the gold-standard of support to all families, no matter what the level of need is or where they call home.

“Collectively, we are deeply concerned by the 31 per cent decline in NHS health visiting staff since 2015. This, coupled with the increase in child caseloads for those still in the health visiting profession, means the nation’s universal support offer for families is under serious strain.

“We urge the next government to recognise and redress this through greater investment in the Healthy Child Programme. Government must also ensure that all parents who need additional help can access this through the expansion of specialist services, including community perinatal mental health services and specialised parent-infant relationship teams.

“On the 29 November, we ask that all party leaders dedicate this day to set out how they will meet the needs of all children, right from the start, while delivering benefits for society as a whole.”

UNITE/CPHVA – Obi Amadi, Lead Professional Officer for Health Visiting

NSPCC – Peter Wanless, CEO

Parent Infant Foundation – Beckie Lang, CEO

NCB – Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive

National Childbirth Trust – Nick Wilkie, Chief Executive Institute of Health Visiting – Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, CEO

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Hajera Blagg, Friday, November 22nd, 2019″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dozens of doctors, health workers and NHS campaigners took to the streets of East London to protest against the latest threat to general practice.

 

GP at Hand, run by technology firm Babylon Health which has links to various  high-profile Tories, is an app-based GP service which targets younger, healthier and more affluent patients.

 

Protestors highlighted on Thursday (November 21) the fact that the service is in effect de-funding traditional GP surgeries, because they rely on the 80 per cent of people who are healthy – the same cohort GP at Hand is now poaching – to subsidise the 20 per cent who are older or have more complex health needs.

 

The latest controversy surrounding GP at Hand is that, after a summer consultation which received little input, NHS England is quietly poised to changed the rules so that it’s much easier for the app-based service to operate and spread.

 

“NHS England are now proposing that in any CCG area where GP at Hand has more than 1,000 patients, the service will automatically be handed an APMS [Alternative Provider Medical Services] contract – something that traditionally people have to compete for,” Doctors in Unite (DiU) chair and GP Jackie Applebee told UniteLive at Thursday’s demo. “Under these changes, GP at Hand will simply be given a contract. It’s very unfair.”

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”2390″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Applebee (pictured above) also pointed to the fact that GP at Hand is not evidence-based – serious problems have been discovered, for example, with the service’s Artificial Intelligence ‘chat bots’, which often misdiagnose patients’ ailments.

 

‘By the offices of Babylon’

But fuelled by patients’ lack of awareness over its services, GP at Hand’s total patient list has soared to nearly 70,000, with 4,017 new patients signing up in the month to November. The numbers are only expected to increase as GP at Hand has now begun operating in Birmingham, with talks to open up in Manchester in 2020 as well.

 

Tower Hamlets, where Thursday’s protest was held, has the largest GP at Hand patient list in the country, with about 6,000 patients. The situation in the London borough is emblematic of the threat that GP at Hand poses and exploits — extreme poverty in certain pockets of Tower Hamlets gives way to areas of extreme wealth, such as in the gleaming financial centre of Canary Wharf.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”2393″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Protestors descended on this very centre where GP at Hand is set to open up new premises (pictured above). Standing in front of hoarding emblazoned with GP at Hand branding at a shopping centre in Canary Wharf, the demonstrators sang songs including ‘By the Offices of Babylon’, set to the tune of the popular reggae song.

 

Unite member Frances Cornford (pictured below), a historian who campaigns for the NHS in her local area, explained to UniteLive why she was taking a stand against GP at Hand.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”2394″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“Babylon Health is essentially cherry-picking younger, fitter patients through GP at Hand,” she said. “They join, thinking they’re getting a full GP service and then they realise that they’re only going to see a GP remotely, through the Internet, and then they leave again. Research has shown that 25 per cent of GP at Hand patients leave within two years. And this whole process comes at an enormous cost to the NHS. GP at Hand has, for example, added massively to Hammersmith and Fulham CCG’s growing deficit.

 

‘Poaching patients’

Unite member Eugene (pictured below), who is a retired NHS pathologist, and now spends much of his time campaigning for the NHS, agrees.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”2395″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“We know that we need to use more technology in the health service but GP at Hand is not the way to do it,” he said. “They’re poaching patients from other GP surgeries and the money follows the patients. It’s unfair, but the Conservative powers that be want to encourage this sort of thing. People shouldn’t be fooled – even though GP at Hand is technically within the NHS, it is totally contrary to the values and the spirit of the NHS. It will lead to two-tier care, where people who are less ill get one service and those who are very ill are left on the scrap heap.”

 

Unite member Dr Kambiz Boomla, a semi-retired GP (pictured below), said that even those who may be tempted by GP at Hand’s promise of quick access to a doctor should think again.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”2396″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“I would argue that you need someone who gets to know you who can provide you with continuity of care, who knows you when you’re well so they can better treat you when you’re ill. There’s no continuity of care with GP at Hand and my message to the NHS executive is this – GP at Hand is a model that has no place in our health service.”

 

Fight for the NHS – and vote

Unite member Phil Edwards (pictured below), a retired teacher and joint secretary of the Newham Save our NHS campaign, told UniteLive he became involved in NHS campaigning after his wife became seriously ill.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”2397″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“She went to all the various hospitals that Bart’s Trust run in East London – each one of them – and she received on the whole excellent treatment. Since then I’ve become more and more involved in the campaign.”

 

Phil explained that he’s standing up against GP at Hand now especially during the general election.

 

“We’ve seen the mess GP at Hand has created in Tower Hamlets, and I feel now it’s especially important to highlight these issues on the eve of the general election,” he said. “I’m hoping for a Labour government because there’s no one else who’s going to resolve this crisis we are now facing in the NHS.”

 

Applebee agreed and urged patients considering registering at GP at Hand to think twice.

 

“Don’t blame the health service, blame the government,” she said. “Successive Tory-led governments have only increased funding for the NHS by one per cent each year since 2010 – before then, increases averaged about 4 per cent annually. The whole NHS has been squeezed.

 

“So I would say to people, if you’re thinking of registering with GP at Hand because you can’t get an appointment with your GP, I understand your frustrations but this is not the way to go. I urge people to instead fight for the NHS and vote for a government that will do the same.”

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A cross-party commitment to a payment necessary to avert planned strike action by local NHS workers this Wednesday [December 18th]

Welcoming the commencement of fresh inter-party talks on the restoration of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive, Kevin McAdam Unite Lead officer for Health, called on all parties to commit to restoring pay parity as a key plank of the negotiations.

“The 2014 decision of the Minister for Health to break pay parity and those of subsequent Ministers who failed to reverse this policy opened a pay gap between NHS workers in Northern Ireland and in England, Scotland and Wales. In the more than one thousand days of absence of a functioning government, that gap has only widened because of the way these decisions have been interpreted by the likes of Permanent Secretary Richard Pengelly in the Department of Health.

“The result has been an unprecedented crisis in staffing resulting from huge challenges to the recruitment and retention of healthcare workers. In the absence of any meaningful workforce development programme, this has led to the colossal waste of hundreds of millions of pounds spent on securing staff through private sector agencies. The resulting squeeze on NHS budgets has left 300,000 on waiting lists – the highest proportion anywhere in the UK – an engineered crisis which will now be used by the advocates of private health care to justify even further outsourcing of NHS budgets.

“Today’s multi-party talks offer some hope for a return to a functioning or accountable devolved administration. In advance of the recent elections, all local political parties committed themselves to a position to restore pay parity for NHS workers in Northern Ireland. As such, we believe that a key plank of today’s talks should include a cross-party commitment to such payments as will allow the planned twenty-four hour strike by all four health unions, Unite, Unison, NIPSA and the RCN to be halted.

“This would be the clearest sign that the parties are committed to work together for the good of all the citizens of Northern Ireland and could mandate the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Health to move to resolve the current pay dispute”, Mr McAdam concluded.

ENDS…

For further information or to arrange an interview contact Kevin McAdam, Unite Regional Officer for health, 07768 693941, or Donal O’Cofaigh (Unite NI Press Office) Tel. 07810 157926.

Links: Web: www.unitetheunionireland.org Twitter: @UniteunionNI

Donal O’Cofaigh
Unite NI Campaigns & Communications
07810 157926