The government have to make sure that they are providing very clear instructions to the public and they also need to make sure that they are providing a much more personal approach. This is the only way that they are going to be able to stop hospitals from becoming overwhelmed by a potential second wave of the virus. Cindy Marudamuthu was the matron for various infectious diseases at the London University NHS Trust when the first wave of the virus was sweeping the nation and she has stated that she became very frustrated that not everyone was following the guidelines regarding social distancing. She has stated that their main concern is that hospitals are going to struggle to cope amid the storm that is happening with the seasonal flu and they are also concerned about the fact that there is only so much that hospitals can even do to try and protect those who need it the most.

At the end of the day, it is Summer now so everyone is a bit more relaxed but when you blink your eyes, it will be winter and for this very reason, people have to be protecting themselves as much as possible. She has stated that she is in fact ready for the next wave, but it is going to be overwhelming when there are flu and cold cases mixed in as well. The infectious disease team are doing everything they can to protect those who work in nursing jobs and even those who work in an nursing recruitment agency so that the spread can be slowed down as much as possible but the hopes are not high right now and this concerns so many people who work in the healthcare industry.

Thousands of nurses are now taking the streets to take part in a socially-distant demonstration regarding pay. More than 35 full demonstrations are scheduled to be taking place in numerous parts of the UK and there are a huge number of midwives expected to show up as well. This is sending a very clear message and they are confident that the events are going to have a huge impact on further protests that are going to be planned later in the month.

The motion now has over 76,500 followers and the group who are not affiliated with any kind of union have asked for a 15% increase in pay for NHS workers. They want this done by the end of the year. Members have stated that they are angry about the government’s decision to leave out their profession from the award. The next pay negotiations are going to happen in 2021 and this is when the three-year deal comes to an end. Campaigners have stated that pay rises and nurses should be brought forward especially given the case of the pandemic right now. The NHS workers have been working tirelessly and even those who have worked nursing jobs have committed so much over the last few months. This is even the case for those who work in an nursing recruitment agency too, so it’s vital that people like this are not forgotten during this uncertain time. Only time will tell if the government are going to change their stance on the issue, but right now it looks like more needs to be done in order to make sure that the people are given the support they need during this very delicate time and that they are given a good rate of pay for their hard work.

It’s said that up to 2,000 nursing apprentices are going to be trained in England, every year for the next four years. A lot of this comes down to a surge in government funding. There is going to be a funding package which is going to be worth up to £172m and it is going to give nurse apprentices the chance to contribute to the workforce much more. Under the new scheme, nurses are going to be encouraged to take on new training and employers are going to try and cover the wider costs involved as well. Backfill staff are required and of course, apprentices need an education. The lack of support with these costs has been cited as being a huge barrier and it is going to stop the widescale rollout in general.

If you work in nursing jobs or even in a nursing recruitment agency, then you will understand how important this is to the growth of the industry overall. Unions and various other health commentators have warned that the announcement does in fact fall short of the amount of work that is required to address the crisis that is happening right now. The cash is part of the funding that is being given out to apprentices for Jobs 2020. It’s aimed at trying to tackle the unemployment rate that is happening right now and it’s also going to stop the vicious cycle of unemployment in the future. Of course, more still needs to be done and this may well not be enough to even touch what is happening in the economy right now but it’s safe to say that it is a step in the right direction. Only time will tell what the future holds but right now it looks like more needs to be done.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak has missed the chance to invest in healthcare. He has put forward his summer statement and this outlines the spending plans for the government. The main problem is that the statement doesn’t seem to cover healthcare as much as it should. Rishi Sunak has stated that he is going to be doing everything he can to boost the economy, but at the end of the day, he is not doing what he should be, which is investing in the one industry which is keeping everyone going right now. Some believe that the investments that he is making will really help to spur on economic growth, which is what people need right now. He believes that by doing this, he can make the country more resilient while also saving lives.

Healthcare

The Chancellor should know that we entered the current pandemic with over 40,000 vacancies for nursing in England. It is incredibly disappointing to see that he has absolutely no measures designed to address the long-standing issue that revolves around recruitment and retention. This includes pay and even staffing. If issues like this keep on going unnoticed then it looks like even more issues are going to arise and this is not going to be good for anyone. At the end of the day, this is going to affect those who work in a nurse agency the most because they are not going to be able to fill the vacancies they have. If you work in any kind of nursing recruitment agency then this is going to affect you as well, because of the knock-on effect of pay and staffing. Steps need to be taken right now to try and address the structural issues that are going to crop up because if not, then this will pose as even bigger problems in the future.

The RCN have demanded a very long-term fix for the workforce issues that are currently being experienced by nurses. This is even the case with the current rise in registered nurses. At the end of the day, figures might show an increase in the total number of nurses, associates and even nurse agency providers, but the NMC are concerned that the impact of Covid-19 is going to affect the nursing recruitment agency sector for years to come. The report has shown that even before the pandemic, the amount of stress that staff were under was not good and that so many had to leave the profession they were in because they could not cope. These concerns have since been echoed by RCN and they are now calling for a long-term fix for the nursing shortage that is happening right now.

Dame Donna Kinnair

Dame Donna Kinnair, who is the Chief Executive over at RCN has stated that they do in fact want to celebrate the diversity of the global profession and they can see that numbers are now moving in the right direction. Right now though, the UK government have to do everything they can to make sure that the nursing sector is attractive and that it is also meaningful too. They know that this is a gift to the workforce right now and for that reason, they have to do everything they can to keep people safe. The data is showing that people are quitting nursing because they cannot handle the amount of pressure they are under and this is making the shortages even more acute. It’s very tough to see that every single day, people are struggling because there aren’t enough nurses to go round, but nurses themselves are struggling too.

UCAS have now published an update which talks about the number of people who are applying to study nursing. Those who want to enrol will have to apply by the 30th of June. They have shown that the number of people who are applying is now up by 15% and that this is very good news so far. The increase is positive, says the RCN, but a much bigger increase is needed if the government want to come close to their commitment of having 50,000 more nurses in the UK by the end of the parliament year. Mike Adams who is the RCN director has come out to say that applications have reduced by 17.4% since the year 2016 and this was the final year of the bursary. This means that even if all of the latest applications happened to be accepted, which is not likely, the gap in the workforce would not be closed.

The Pandemic

The pandemic has put extra strain on those who operate a nurse agency and it has also gone on to affect those who work in a nursing recruitment agency too. At the end of the day, the effort that they have shown needs to be done as an investment in nurses for the future. The government have to make sure that they invest properly in domestic nursing and they also need to make sure that the patient need is met over the long-term. If this is to be achieved, then the debt of those who have had to study needs to be wiped. This would show that the government are doing whatever they can to support the current need and it would also help those who need it the most. This isn’t going to be done, however.

So many people who work as social care workers or even in a nurse agency are now finding it difficult to qualify for the new Health and Care Visa. There are even those who are signed up to a nursing recruitment agency right now who do not qualify and this that they are not going to be exempt from the unfair health surcharge that is applied to immigrants. The government have released even more details about the visa and the surcharge to try and make sure that everything is done to give those who need it, a fair service.

The New Plans

The new plans have been announced and they are going to make the whole visa application much faster and even cheaper for nurses. This is designed for those who work in the NHS sector or even from overseas, but it won’t be beneficial to those who are not eligible for the Tier 2 visa route. This is otherwise known as the General visa route. The government have followed up on the 14th of July with even more announcements from the IHS. The unfair fee is not just, and the RCN have campaigned against it too. The government have promised to try and make sure that those who are exempt do not pay the fee. Those who are part of the second tier therefore do not need to pay the price, but at the end of the day, anyone who has paid it will also be eligible for a refund. The problem here is that healthcare workers who do not qualify for the new visa will not be exempt from IHS. Instead, they are going to have to pay it and this is really going to work against those who are in the social care industry.

Staff who have advanced respiratory care skills are now sporting yellow lanyards. This is being done at one trust and it is completely designed to help nurses deal with those who have breathing difficulties. The move is part of the Gloucestershire Hospital Trust response to the outbreak of Covid-19 which is a respiratory illness. Healthcare workers are also being given additional care and training as well to help them deal with the outbreak.

Online Learning Package

An online package is has been developed by clinicians to makes sure that more nurses and staff have the skills they need to actively care for people who have these kinds of issues. The training package which was put together in 48 hours contains all of the information that people need to try and take care of those around them. The lanyard is very eye-catching, and it comes with the words respiratory skills printed onto the tape. This idea comes from Craig Bradley who is the associate chief nurse.

The Lanyard

The lanyard has been developed as the result of the Covid-19 response. The staff who may be asked about the respiratory patients can easily identify colleagues who have the experience needed to get the job done. It also means that those who are coming from a nurse agency or even a nursing recruitment agency will benefit from this if they are not familiar with the staff who they are working with.
Gloucestershire Hospitals have said that over 200 people are going to be wearing the lanyard in the next few days and that healthcare workers need to be prepared for everything that is going to come their way. If they aren’t then this could mean a disaster for the future.

A backdated pay increase of over 10% for nurses who work on the island of Guernsey has been imposed. This is of specialist interest to those who are part of a nursing recruitment agency or even a nurse agency. The negotiations have been put on hold as the result of the coronavirus. The State of Guernsey Policy has implemented the recent offer that was made for the Agenda For Change. The award includes a 5% pay increase which is going to be effective from January. Another 5% increase is going to be put in place from September 2019. This ultimately means that staff who are under the scheme are going to be seeing their salaries increase by over 10%.

The P&R have stated that the negotiations for the year 2020 and even the future years as well are going to be taken into consideration. These are being paused given the unquantified demands of public funding and the enormity of the potential. Unions have expressed their disappointment on the situation, and they have also agreed to stop any industrial action from taking place. This is especially the case given the fact that the Covid crisis is still happening. Leaders of the Royal College of Nursing have released a statement and they have warned that the pay dispute is not in fact over yet. They have said that they recognise the fact that the Covid-19 crisis is putting a lot of pressure on things like public finances and that this is happening more than ever before. That being said, withholding money will not help at all. The pay gap remains but in this day and age, staff are now feeling way more valued than ever. This is not good to say the least, but it looks like more can be done right now.

Andrea Sutcliffe who is the chief executor over at the Nursing and Midwifery Council has come out to say that nurses need to have more protection if they want to give the support that the patients need. Nurses are currently facing some of the biggest challenges in their lives right now and if they are not looked after then the entire front line is going to crumble. Sutcliffe has stated that more needs to be done to try and give PPE to nurses and this comes after the Royal College of Nursing wrote a letter to the prime minister regarding the same issue.

Health and Social Staff

If you work in a nurse agency or in a nursing recruitment agency then you will know what a difficult time this is right now. Covid-19 essentially means that midwives and even nursing professionals are under so much more pressure than normal and that they need to try and do everything they can to provide the critical care required to those who are in need. This needs to be done across the entire industry of health and social care. If this is not done, then nurses are not going to be able to provide the support that they need, and everyone is going to suffer as a result.
It’s incredibly vital that the frontline staff are given the help they need with testing and they are also given the right level of personal protection as well. If they aren’t then this could mean bad things for the future and it might even mean that the virus ends up killing far more people than it should. Right now, the times are uncertain but if nurses are given the help they need then they will be able to do their job properly.