Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail, November 13, 2010 The number of managers in the Welsh NHS has soared as the nursing workforce has shrunk, according to figures released by the Conservatives yesterday. Figures obtained by shadow health minister Andrew RT Davies revealed the number of managers has risen by a staggering 20% since 2005. In the same period, there has been a 24% reduction in the absolute number of nurses, midwives and health visitors working on Welsh hospital wards and in the community. The figures come at a time of concern in the public sector about the scale of government cuts, and amid warnings ... More

Western Mail, September 27, 2010 The Royal College of Nursing has launched its manifesto ahead of next year’s National Assembly elections. Ann Taylor Griffiths, RN, outlines the priorities for the next Assembly Government. ... Nurses

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail, July 31, 2010 A ban on expensive agency nurses and locum doctors will be introduced in large parts of Wales as the NHS tries to save tens of millions of pounds. Cash-strapped health boards are introducing stringent cost-saving measures as they have amassed overspends of up to £12m in three months. But the British Medical Association said last night it had “serious concerns” about actions that could compromise patient safety. ... NHS

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail, July 7, 2010 Up to 2,000 full-time nurse and midwifery posts are under threat in Wales, the Royal College of Nursing has warned. More than 600 jobs a year could be lost if the NHS reduces the number of band five posts by 3% a year in Wales. RCN Wales yesterday called on health boards to protect frontline clinical posts and seek financial savings elsewhere, as it emerged the NHS spends £34m a year more on management staff as on senior nursing staff. ... Nurses

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail, June 28, 2010 Nurses will today tell the Assembly Government it must work harder to improve mental health and primary care services in Wales. The Royal College of Nursing Wales also said more needs to be done to ensure patients are treated by nurses with the right skills. The assessments come at the end of the three-year Get It Right campaign, designed to improve patient care, which set out 10 policy areas for the Assembly Government. While there have been improvements in many areas, including community and school nursing ... the RCN said little has changed in some areas. ... Nurses

BBC, April 3, 2010 Concern has been raised about a drop in key NHS staff in Welsh hospitals after efficiency targets came into force. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says Welsh Assembly Government targets will see a reduction in staff of 3% every year for the next three years. It claims it could equate to a cut of around 739 nurses every year. But the assembly government says the cuts will not focus on one group of workers and will apply to staff who are in band five and above. The Annual Operating Framework (AOF) sets out the expectations of the NHS in Wales within any one financial year. It includes national targets, efficiency and productivity measures ... Nursing

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail, April 2, 2010 Thousands of frontline NHS roles in Wales are to go in a three-year cost-saving drive. The reduction in numbers of qualified and experienced staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics and physiotherapists – will start this year. The cuts are the result of an Assembly Government target which wants the NHS to reduce the number of Agenda for Change staff classed as band five and above by 3% every year over the next three years. The Royal College of Nursing in Wales has raised serious concerns about the devastating impact on patient care if nurses – the biggest staff group in the NHS ... NHS

Nurses in Wales have won round one of the battle to get a full 2.5 per
cent pay increase. But they say morale still remains at an all-time
low. Liz Perkins, Swansea Evening Post, August 9, 2007 Swansea nurse
Kiera Jones should be celebrating. The 29-year-old, from Craigcefnparc,
is among thousands of nursing staff from across Wales to have won a
one-off 2.5 per cent pay rise. Her colleagues on the other side of the
Severn Bridge are still waiting for the Government to stump up the cash
for their staggered increase. But instead of cracking open the
champagne, she says the below inflation rise has done little to boost

Medical News Today, June 16, 2007 The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) today welcomed the commitment made by the Minister for Health and Social Services in Wales to press the UK government for the full implementation of the 2.5% pay award for all nurses, as recommended by the independent Pay Review Body. Edwina Hart, the Minister for Health in the newly-elected Welsh Assembly government also urged the Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt to reopen talks with her Exchequer colleagues. Tina Donnelly Director of the RCN in Wales which represents 22,700 nurses in the country commented, "We welcome the support shown to the nursing family by the Welsh Assembly Government. It echoes the support shown by the other political parties in their election manifestos. ..." RCN

News Wales, April 25, 2007 Welsh Liberal Democrats today expressed concern that nurses in Wales aren't getting a fair deal on pay. The Independent Pay Review Body has recommended a 2.5% pay award for nurses in full from April 2007 but Governments in Westminster and Cardiff have opted to impose a staged pay award. Last week's Royal College of Nursing Annual Congress threatened strike action for the first time in its history over the proposed staged increases, which will mean a real-terms pay rise of just 1.9%. In Scotland, where Liberal Democrats are part of the Government, nurses will receive the fully recommended pay rise for nurses of 2.5% on 1st April. ... Wales

News Wales, April 24, 2007
Nurses in Wales are concerned and distressed over NHS cash shortages. Tina Donnelly, Director RCN Wales, said: "We hope the Welsh Assembly Government will now acknowledge the concern and distress which this dash for financial balance is causing amongst nurses and patients. Two years ago, we issued our first warning about the scale and impact of the cash crisis facing the NHS. Now financial problems continue to dog the NHS. It is vital that patients come first when balancing NHS budgets." Ms Donnelly was responding to research by BBC Wales that the NHS in Wales is continuing to spiral into debt with a forecast overspend of £33 million for the last 12 months.

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail, April 24 2007 Nurses have criticised delays over the publication of a strategy to reform emergency services in Wales. The Delivering Emergency Care Strategy (Decs) has yet to be published by the Welsh Assembly Government, some six months after a public consultation ended. It is thought the final document, which will outline what services will be available to patients, will not be published until June at the earliest. This is despite the ongoing problems caused by patients swamping accident and emergency departments and dialling 999 for minor complaints. In the six months since the end of the consultation NHS Direct has merged with the Welsh Ambulance Service - one of the proposals put forward in Decs. The Royal College of Nursing in Wales today says the Welsh Assembly Government must invest in improving access to emergency care across Wales. ... Assembly

South Wales Evening Post, April 23, 2007 Nursing leaders in Wales are calling for equality for all British nurses.The Royal College of Nursing in Wales is leading the fight for all nurses to be offered the pay review body's recommended award of 2.5 per cent in full from April 1. It has rejected the proposed staging of the pay hike by the Government. The move saw a 1.5 per cent rise made available in April, and the remaining one per cent will come into force in November. An emergency resolution was pushed forward at the RCN annual congress in Harrogate. Ann Taylor-Griffiths, RCN Welsh board member, said the resolution showed the strength of feeling among nurses. ... Bosses

Western Mail, April 18, 2007 Wales captain Ryan Giggs has pledged a day's pay to help nurses in crisis. The Manchester United legend, who has an estimated £20m fortune, is among a number of Premiership footballers to donate a proportion of his sizeable salary to a national campaign. Dr Noreena Hertz, who has organised the campaign, is hoping to sign up all 556 Premiership players, as well as managers and commentators, in a bid to raise more than £1m. To date, 73 footballers, including the entire Reading and Fulham squads, have pledged cash ahead of the official May Day for Nurses on May 13. Arsenal player Thierry Henry and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James are among the big names who have given a day's salary. Top players can earn more than £100,000 a week, while the average nurse's annual pay is £21,000. ... Giggs

Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail, March 26, 2007 Patient care will be affected if nurses in Wales do not receive their "paltry" pay rise in full next week, it was warned last night. Eirlys Warrington, chair of the Royal College of Nursing's Welsh Board, has urged First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Welsh Secretary Peter Hain to work together to fully fund the below-inflation pay deal in April. In a letter to the pair she said that failure to do so would see a further deterioration in morale among Wales' nursing workforce. Although nurses have been promised a 2.5% pay rise they will only receive 1.5% in April with the remaining 1% payable in November. This equates to a 1.9% pay rise, but at well below inflation it could see nurses earning £24,000 actually losing almost £600 a year. ... Nurses