Last month, LAS UNISON Branch Health & Safety Officer Paul Stewart and Branch Communications Officer Rob Sydney travelled up to Birmingham to visit the Emergency Services Show. On display at this year’s show were over 300 manufacturers and suppliers with a wide range of vehicles and equipment for all emergency services. However, there was one particular vehicle we were keen to see. The new National Ambulance Specification vehicle. Despite objections…
NHS England has ordered a review into the cost of patient transport services and the way they are commissioned, following a string of market failures. Simon Stevens last week told the Healthwatch annual conference in Birmingham that the probe, expected to last a year, would act on concerns raised by patients. Clinical commissioning groups commission the bulk of non-emergency patient transport, with trusts sometimes organising extra capacity. However, many CCGs…
NHS Pension Scheme – Age discrimination judgement A legal case taken by the firefighters and judges has found that the transitional protections introduced as part of the 2015 changes to their respective pension schemes were discriminatory based on age. There is a likely read across of this judgement to the other public sector pension schemes, which includes the NHS Pension Scheme, that have similar protection arrangements. In the NHS if…
On 1 April 2019, NHS Improvement introduced new national ambulance vehicle specifications and all new ambulances purchased need to be in line with these. More information on the specifications can be found here. UNISON recognises that there is too much variation between ambulance vehicles in the English ambulance services and a more joined up approach would be beneficial to the NHS. However, we are concerned that as part of the…
The consultation for the new National ambulance vehicle specification for English NHS ambulance trusts has now concluded. NHS Improvement have published the consultation response document that you can download here. They have also published the new national specification that you can download here.
It has recently come to our attention that there are plans to move to a single national fleet model. Just to be clear, the proposed changes, subject to the consultation outcome, would come into force for any new ambulance purchased from 1 April 2019. To summarise – NHS Improvement are consulting over the standard specification for an emergency DCA. https://engage.improvement.nhs.uk/operational-productivity-comms/english-nhs-ambulance-vehicle-spec/ There is no, one vehicle manufacturer that has been mandated,…
Under the terms of the national NHS pay deal, ambulance staff employed prior to 1 September 2018 are subject to Annex 5 (previously Annex E) unsocial hours provisions. Ambulance staff employed from 1 September 2018 and existing staff who change roles (including promotion) will be subject to Section 2. Staff employed before 1 September 2018 are being given the opportunity to voluntarily move to section 2 (England) provisions. Further information…
This year the NHS is 70 years old and that’s something worth celebrating! UNISON is proud to represent and celebrate the whole team of staff who work in the NHS. As the largest union in the NHS, we also know that there has never been a more important time for us to stand together and defend our health service against the policies of this government. That’s why we are asking…
APS stands for Antiphospholipid Syndrome and is also known as Hughes Syndrome or Sticky Blood.
APS is a life-threatening autoimmune condition that can cause strokes, heart attacks, DVTs and blood clots. Read More about “Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS)”…
