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1/13 Interesting discussion with trust CEOs on today’s pensions announcement. As tweeted earlier, strong feeling that, although there is a lot to do at pace, this is a welcome good step forward. New sense of urgency and purpose......
2/13 However, widespread, clear and strong concern that the focus is far too exclusively on senior doctors, as we said in our reaction and as well expressed in this @HSJnews article: hsj.co.uk/workforce/trus…. CEOs are highlighting three issues and I’ve got a fourth.
3/13 First issue with exclusive senior doctor focus of today’s pensions announcement is that it is creating unnecessary divisions between different categories of affected staff. Provision of safe, high quality, care needs equal contribution from doctors, nurses, managers......
4/13 ...Pensions announcement focussing just on senior doctors risks downgrading importance and contribution of other groups. @TheBMA have done a good job highlighting the issue but others have been highlighting problems too. This isn’t just about senior doctors.
5/13 Second, trust CEOs are worried that by focussing on solving the NHS pensions problems faced by well paid staff affected by the annual / lifetime allowances, it looks like we are valuing those staff more highly than other staff who have different pensions problems......
6/13 Trust CEOs and people like @saragorton_1 and @nhsemployers have been flagging other problems that need sorting - for example lowest paid staff not being able to afford their employee pension contributions...
7/13 Trust CEOs feel that it would be wrong to allow well paid staff flexibility over their pension contributions but not allow junior staff similar types of flexibility. One rule for rich and one for everyone else. Neither fair nor appropriate if trying to create one NHS team.
8/13 Third, trust CEOs are particularly worried about clinicians performing managerial roles - they’re absolutely vital in any NHS trust. Not just Medical and Nursing Directors but the vast number of clinicians in Clinical Division leadership/management roles.....
9/13 If the result of today’s announcement is differential treatment between hands on clinicians and clinicians doing management/leadership roles we risk an exodus of clinicians going back to hands on roles, which would be a massive problem.
10/13 It would be really dumb to fix one problem - senior clinical pensions issues - and, in so doing, cause another - massively reduce the attractiveness of clinicians doing leadership roles. Esp since we have been working so hard to get more clinicians into leadership roles.
11/13 Fourth issue - my one. My reading is that politicians are nervous about extending the proposed solution to NHS managers because they are wary of the potential media, political and public reaction, even through they know that this is the right and necessary thing to do.
12/13 I will avoid (ish) the temptation to say that these are the wholly unnecessary difficulties you reap when you sow populist nonsense about “overpaid NHS bureaucrats/managers”. We need Government to step up to the plate here and do the right thing....
13/13 To be fair, @MattHancock told @NHSProviders’ last annual conference, in my video interview with him, that he would always value NHS managers and wouldn’t denigrate them as others had. Would be good to show that spirit here and take a lead in the way the frontline NHS needs.
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