Some general practice nurses (GPNs) have been able to achieve more than they expected after ‘asking and pushing’ their employers about a pay rise, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
RCN director for England Patricia Marquis told a webinar of GPNs about the importance of speaking with their employers and asking for the 6% pay rise the government promised earlier this year.
Her comments come amid ongoing concerns that not all GPNs will receive a full 6% uplift because of the way the funding has been distributed to practices – which could see some not being given enough to cover the entire rise, while others could get more than necessary.
Providing an update on the latest state of play with GPN pay last week, Ms Marquis suggested ‘some’ GPNs had achieved ‘more than [they] thought’ they would – though not necessarily the full 6% – by having conversations with their employers.
‘Just ask for your pay rise. Many of you have, that’s brilliant,’ she said.
‘Some of you have really achieved from asking and pushing… more than you thought you would achieve.
‘Maybe not the 6%, but you have made progress and have achieved more than you would have achieved had you not spoken up.’
Pointing to a recently launched survey by the RCN, Ms Marquis said the college was seeking information from GPNs on what is happening with funding for salaries at a local level.
The RCN is ‘trying to seek transparency’, she said, including ‘how much funding did your general practice receive and what choices have they made about how they use that funding’.
‘That’s really critical because, to date, in many places that is really opaque – you at local level, and certainly we, don’t know how much is being received and how much is being spent on salaries and how much is being spent on general practice nursing salaries,’ added Ms Marquis.
‘That information is really like gold dust to us being able to understand better what is going on.’
She added: ‘The more information that can be shared and that you have and can share with us the more information and the more of a case we can start to build about what’s not working and what needs to be put right.’
The webinar also heard how increased engagement from GPNs on pay and conditions had already given the RCN ‘more opportunities’ to engage with the British Medical Association and the government on these issues.
