Nurses belonging to Unite the union will be balloted on whether they would be prepared to take strike action over the 2025-26 pay award for NHS staff. The union has urged its NHS members in England and Wales to reject the recent 3.6% pay offer, in ballots due to open later this month. “This offer does nothing to address low pay in the NHS which hovers perilously close to the legal minimum” Sharon Graham Other health unions are also getting ready to launch consultative ballots on the pay offer in the coming weeks. It comes as the UK government announced…
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A landmark roundtable discussion, led by Cygnet and hosted by Lord Patel of Bradford, brought together leading voices from across health, social care and the third sector at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday 21 May, to tackle the pressing issue of domestic abuse. The event formed part of Cygnet’s ongoing Domestic Abuse Quality Improvement (QI) project, aimed at enhancing how domestic abuse is recognised and addressed by staff, both for service users and within the workforce. Chaired by Phil Winterbottom, Cygnet’s Head of Safeguarding and Protection, the discussion opened with keynote contributions from Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner…
With NHS England set to be abolished, a new 10-year plan to reform the NHS looming and a refreshed workforce strategy around the corner, the government is doubling down on its mission to overhaul the health service. The chief nursing officer (CNO) for England, Duncan Burton, has told Nursing Times what he thinks the changes mean for the profession. “I don’t think cuts are inevitable” Duncan Burton Since taking power, the government has initiated plans to reorganise the health system. As part of this, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer announced earlier this year that NHS England would be scrapped, ending…
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been urged to issue a statement backing the four fields of nursing. The RCN Mental Health Forum has called on the college’s governing council to make unquestionable its support for the separate branches and other nursing specialties. “Comments can be misinterpreted as support for getting rid of specialties” Helen Rees The four core fields are adult, children’s, mental health and learning disabilities nursing. In recent months, the future of mental health nursing has been brought into the spotlight. Nursing Times reported on comments made by RCN chief Professor Nicola Ranger and others that…
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) has signaled confidence in the merger with Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) in a shareholder document. According to the publication, previous drafts of documents marked as “privileged and confidential” were incorrectly sent to statistics reporters. According to STAT, after informing UnitedHealth of its intent to report to the document, UnitedHealth posted a slightly modified version of the document on its website. In both versions of the 18-page document, UnitedHealth addresses the proposed merger with Amedisys. This is plagued by antitrust law and investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ). “We remain optimistic about completing the proposed merger and…
As Medicare Advantage (MA) continues to rise rapidly, nonprofit home health companies are being forced to move away from certain care plans and tackle unsustainable reimbursement rates. Non-profit home care providers are increasingly struggling to absorb the financial losses associated with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Unlike large, for-profit organizations with scale and negotiation leverage, many nonprofit organizations lack the resources to negotiate with payers and increase their reimbursement rates. As a result, they reassessed payer relationships, exploring innovative operational strategies that continue to be financially viable while leveraging community support and serving vulnerable groups. “A small number of payers will…
Early career midwives are struggling to find jobs in NHS trusts in England, much like their nursing counterparts. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has published the results of a new survey of almost 1,000 final-year student midwives. “There is a high chance I will graduate with no job” Student midwife This survey, which ran for a week in May, found that more than 80% were “not confident” they will find a job once graduating. Three-quarters (75%) of respondents said they had already applied for jobs, but many reported that they were having no luck securing a post. One student midwife,…
Nursing agencies have hit out at the UK Government after it mooted plans to eliminate the use of agency staff in the NHS. On Monday, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced that its crackdown on agency spending had resulted in an “unprecedented” £1bn being saved in 2024-25. “It’s been a sledgehammer to crack a nut” Simon Taylor Now, health and social care secretary Wes Streeting and NHS England chief executive Jim Mackey have written to all integrated care boards and NHS trusts in England urging them to “ultimately eradicate agency spending altogether”. The government said that if…
Once the chief executive of NHS England, Lord Nigel Crisp has since become a major ally for the nursing profession worldwide. He has spoken with Nursing Times about his interest in global health, why he backs nursing and what he thinks the profession needs to thrive in the future. “If your nurses are healthy and happy in their jobs, then they will provide better care” Nigel Crisp In 2016, independent peer Lord Crisp authored the Triple Impact report as part of his role as co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health. This influential report argued that strengthening nursing…
Home hygiene and hospice provider Intrepid USA recently filed for bankruptcy. The company filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in late May in the Southern District Court of Texas, according to court documents. Adam Stein-Sapir, a bankruptcy expert at Pioneer Funding Group LLC, says the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing will result in a straight liquidation. “(Chapter 7) There is no hope of rehabilitation,” he told Home Health Care News. “The debtors know they're leaving bankruptcy. They're using the protections of the bankruptcy code to participate in bankruptcy, carrying out liquidation that monetizes assets and distributes revenue.” Pioneer Funding Group is…