Health sector Key Worker strategy

This Assembly welcomes the ongoing campaign by London health workers to secure fair NHS pay and regrets that Government has not respected the Independent Pay Review Body's recommendation of a 1% pay rise in 2014 and 2015. The Assembly notes that the NHS is one of the largest employers in London.

The Assembly notes with concern the report by the Royal College of Nursing in December which showed that 14% of London NHS nursing posts are vacant, while the London Ambulance Service is recruiting over 100 paramedics from Australia and New Zealand to cover the gaps in its own workforce.

In a separate study 83% of RCN student members in London said the Government’s decision had made them worried they would not be able to afford to be a nurse in the city and the last CEO of the LAS stated that the ‘cost of living’ was a recruitment and retention problem for paramedics.

This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor of London to:

• Establish a key worker strategy and set out plans to better support nurses, paramedics and other key workers with the cost of living, so that they are able to enjoy a decent quality of life in London, and help safeguard the quality of key services.”