Lord Goddard: Hospices need additional Government funding to be able to give their staff the pay rise they deserve, without making cuts
3 min read
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Goddard writes following his parliamentary question this week, on 'the impact on hospices of NHS pay increases and the ability of voluntary hospices to access additional funding'.
On 21st March 2018, a pay settlement was agreed for 1.3 million frontline healthcare staff. This pay rise only applies to staff who are directly employed by NHS organisations, such as NHS Trusts, Foundation Trusts or Arm’s-Length Bodies. Although some hospices are funded or partially funded by the NHS, most are delivered by independent organisations; including charities, social enterprises and private companies. These independent providers are not required to follow NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions, nor are they required to give their staff a pay rise. These independent organisations will not receive any additional funding even if they choose to follow, or want to follow, the NHS pay rise. So, what is the impact on hospices of the NHS pay increase.
Staff directly employed by the NHS will receive a pay rise from July 2018, backdated to April 2018. I understand that this money will be allocated directly to NHS organisations, such as NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts, who will then ‘distribute’ it to eligible staff through their payroll mechanism. For staff working in independently-provided hospices, they will not receive a pay rise from the Government. Staff employed by independent hospices will only receive a pay rise if their individual employer (the hospice/charity or private company) choose to uplift their pay rates to match local NHS wages. However, this is down to individual employers’ choice and the employer/provider will not receive funding to do this. My understanding is there will be no additional funding from the Treasury to voluntary hospices to provide pay rises for their staff. The Royal College of Nursing believes that this imbalance will create an uneven playing field for recruiting and retaining staff.
It is likely that increased pay in NHS-provided services will incentivise health care staff to seek employment with NHS organisations, rather than the independent sector.
Without additional funding, any hospices seeking to provide their staff with a pay rise would need to identify other income to meet the increased cost of any pay rise. For a charity run hospice this might mean identifying additional charitable income or reallocating existing charitable resources. All hospice employers considering a pay increase without additional funding from the Government would need to consider other efficiencies to meet the cost of any pay rise – this could include counter-productive measures such as reducing staffing levels or reducing other terms and conditions for their employees.
There are a number of options which could alleviate this problem and mitigate the impact on providers and their staff. However, if the government would provide direct (ring-fenced) funding to improve the pay, terms and conditions of all nurses and health care support workers who are delivering NHS services regardless of their employer. This would help employers address the significant recruitment and retention problems, and ultimately deliver better patient care.
The Lord Goddard of Stockport is a Liberal Democrat peer
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