A decade of pay erosion: The destructive effect on UK nursing staff earnings and retention – October 2022

A decade of pay erosion: The destructive effect on UK nursing staff earnings and retention – October 2022 London Economics were commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing to undertake a detailed analysis of the evolution of registered nurses’ and nursing support workers’ NHS Agenda for Change pay over the last decade, across the UK. 

The analysis provides an evidence-based assessment of the extent to which remuneration in the nursing profession has been impacted by years of pay stagnation and the current cost-of-living crisis. In addition, the analysis addresses a number of common misconceptions about the relative outcomes of nurses compared to other occupations; the particularly damaging effect of inflation on nurses; the relationship between turnover rates amongst the nursing profession and pay settlements; as well as the true costs to the Exchequer associated with ever-increasing nurse vacancies.

See also:

• Nursing staff are working one day a week for free, new data reveals Royal College of Nursing
• Nurses 'work one day a week for FREE', analysis claims The Daily Mail
• Nurses ‘working one day a week for free’ after 10 years of pay cuts The Independent

Tuberculosis deaths and disease increase during the COVID-19 pandemic

Tuberculosis deaths and disease increase during the COVID-19 pandemic An estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2021, an increase of 4.5% from 2020, and 1.6 million people died from TB (including 187 000 among HIV positive people), according to the World Health Organization’s 2022 Global TB report. The burden of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) also increased by 3% between 2020 and 2021, with 450 000 new cases of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) in 2021.This is the first time in many years an increase has been reported in the number of people falling ill with TB and drug resistant TB.

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Positivity for flu has continued to increase and is now at 5.2%. It is the highest in 5 to 14-year-olds at 12% followed by 15 to 44-year-olds at 9.6%.

Hospitalisation rates for flu are highest in those aged 0 to 4 at 3.19 followed by those aged 85+ at 2.48 per 100,000. Health Security Agency

Record numbers of staff working in the NHS

Record numbers of staff working in the NHS There are over 1.2 million full-time equivalent staff working in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England - over 31,000 more people compared to a year ago, up by over 2.5%.

Latest data published by NHS Digital shows that, compared to August 2021, there are also over 3,700 more doctors and over 9,100 more nurses working in the NHS. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• NHS Workforce Statistics - July 2022 NHS Digital

Minorities 'face discrimination' in NHS blood services

Minorities 'face discrimination' in NHS blood services People from a black and ethnic minority background "experienced inequality and discrimination" while working for NHS Blood and Transplant, a report says.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected blood services operations at its Bristol headquarters, and five other centres in August.

It found "safe and effective care" was given by "competent and skilled staff, working together effectively".

However, "there was a mixed view" in relation to its organisational culture. BBC News

See also:

• CQC reports on its review of NHS Blood and Transplant Care Quality Commission

Wave of Covid cases in England may have peaked as hospital admissions fall

Wave of Covid cases in England may have peaked as hospital admissions fall The number of people in hospital in England with Covid-19 has started to fall, suggesting the latest wave of admissions may have peaked.

A total of 9,131 patients testing positive for coronavirus were in hospital as of October 26, according to NHS England.

This is down 12 per cent from 10,387 a week earlier. The Independent

Harrowing ‘systemic abuse’ at children’s hospitals revealed

Harrowing ‘systemic abuse’ at children’s hospitals revealed Children say they were “treated like animals” and left traumatised as part of a decade of “systemic abuse” by a group of mental health hospitals, an investigation by The Independent and Sky News has found.

The Department of Health and Social Care has now launched a probe into the allegations of 22 young women who were patients in units run by The Huntercombe Group, which has run at least six children’s mental health hospitals, between 2012 and this year.

See also:

• 'Treated worse than animals': Huntercombe investigation reveals decade of mistreatment in care of more than 20 teenagers Sky News

Patients dying outside A&E, hospital corridors as makeshift wards – and it’s only October

Patients dying outside A&E, hospital corridors as makeshift wards – and it’s only October | Gaby Hinsliff  Last week, a hospital trust in Bury offered its condolences to the family of an elderly patient who died in the back of an ambulance after waiting a reported three hours just to get into A&E.

Doctors came out to try to treat the patient in the vehicle, but unfortunately to no avail. It’s the sort of story that sounds as if it should be a shocking one-off, but may soon become more common. One anonymous paramedic spoke afterwards to the Manchester Evening News of patients waiting for up to eight hours in ambulances, being treated inside them, and then being driven home without ever actually managing to get through the doors of a hospital that was full to overflowing. The Guardian

See also:

• It is not true the NHS is ‘envy of the world’, says Wes Streeting The Guardian

Number of missed GP appointments hits highest in a YEAR

Number of missed GP appointments hits highest in a YEAR The number of people who missed GP appointments has hit a year-high, statistics revealed today as plans to fine culprits £10 were renewed.

Almost 1.4million GP appointments were missed in September this year, according to official NHS data.

It is the highest monthly toll since November last year (1.43m). The Daily Mail

Flu and RSV coinfection creates entirely new untreatable hybrid

Flu and RSV coinfection creates entirely new untreatable hybrid The flu and a seasonal common cold virus can fuse together and create an entirely new pathogen, scientists have shown for the first time.

Influenza A and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - which is wreaking havoc on US hospitals - were found to combine and create not one but two new hybrid viruses.

The experiments were done in human lung cells in a laboratory, but there is nothing to suggest the same process won't occur in a person infected with both illnesses. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Coinfection by influenza A virus and respiratory syncytial virus produces hybrid virus particles (open access) Nature Microbiology