NEWS RELEASE FROM THE
REGISTERED NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION
Issued 19th December 2000
NURSES' PAY AWARD THREE TIMES HIGHER THAN INCOME SUPPORT RISE FOR
ELDERLY IN NURSING HOME CARE
Leaders of Britain's nursing homes today welcomed the Government's above inflation pay award for nurses, whilst contrasting it with the very low increase to the income support that pays the fees of around two thirds of the older people in nursing home care.
The Registered Nurse Home Association (RNHA) said that nursing homes in the independent and voluntary sectors would like to match the 3.7 per cent increase for qualified nursing staff that the NHS will offer from next April. But the rise in income support for older people in care was, at 1.2 per cent, less than a third of this level, making it virtually impossible for nursing homes to afford the rise.
Said RNHA chief executive officer Frank Ursell: "Against a backdrop of rising costs and falling levels of occupancy, many nursing homes are already struggling to offer the high quality care they want to provide. Whilst the nurses undoubtedly deserve their pay rise, it is a pity that the Government did not see fit to award at least an equivalent payment to the elderly and disabled people who need their services in Britain's 6,000 nursing homes."
He added: "If things carry on like this, the nursing home sector will slip behind in terms of the quality of staff it can attract and the quality of care it can provide. We would like to know whether the Government genuinely wishes to see a vibrant nursing home sector providing high standards of care. If it does, the level of funding they receive needs to keep pace with pay costs for nurses."
END
For further information please contact: Frank Ursell, Chief Executive Officer, RNHA (Tel: 0121-454 2511 or mobile 0385 227000)
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