Responding to the draft Coronavirus Bill laid before Parliament today, RCN Chief Executive and General Secretary Dame Donna Kinnair, said:
“The powers outlined in today’s Bill will bring significant changes to the way all health and social care staff work, and we will continue to advise the government as it introduces new measures to fight the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Many nursing students and some recently retired nurses will want to play their part in helping to tackle the epidemic. We have been clear that students in the last six months of their degree must be free to choose to work. They must also be supported and supervised during their placements, and be properly remunerated.
“In the same vein, it is vital that all essential health and care needs of patients and service users are always undertaken by paid and appropriately qualified staff. Volunteers must not be asked to take on the work of registered nurses, both for their own protection and that of patients.
"The Bill enables the way people are assessed for social care to be simplified, so that local authorities can focus their resources on delivering care for those in need. Guidance must be available to local authorities and health and care staff to ensure that there is consistency and transparency around decision making.
“The legislation provides for Statutory Sick Pay to be paid from day one to employees who develop Covid-19 or are in isolation. But we want government to go further and ensure that all health and care staff who are absent from work due to Covid-19 – including GP practice nurses and bank and agency staff - receive full occupational sick pay from day one, and that staff do not suffer any financial detriment.
“The inescapable reality is that insufficient investment in the nursing workforce over the last decade is already making it hard for nursing staff to fight the pandemic. The government must recognise the added pressure these developments are putting on an already overstretched nursing workforce. As a professional trade union, we will continue to raise the voice of nursing through this critical time”.
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