Bookmarkers beware: Bookmarks to pages other than the home page may not work after we change our server in April Editor's Choice | This Week in BMJ | Press releases BMJ No 7129 Volume 316 News Saturday 7 February 1998 Nurses' pay award will not help recruitment Leaders of Britain's 500,000 nurses, midwives, and health visitors say that the phasing of a 3.8% award, which is below inflation, will only deepen the current recruitment crisis. The government's decision to phase the recommendation of the nurses' review body means that from 1 December the minimum salary for a staff nurse will be £14,705 ($23,528) and for a ward sister £16,310. Last week the Royal College of Nursing said that the NHS was short of more than 8,000 full time nurses and that the shortage of experienced registered nurses could threaten patient care. Places on training schemes that had been oversubscribed were now vacant. The NHS is short of more than 8,000 full time nurses Photo: ULRIKE PREUSS The review body found that 8.7% of nurses left the profession in 1997. The government has already launched a national recruitment campaign and has announced an extra 300 training places. A spokeswoman for the Royal College of Nursing, Michelle Dixon, said: "The problem is so big, it's more than a recruitment campaign alone that's needed." At the request of the nursing unions and the government the review body did not recommend local pay bargaining. This will allow for the government's NHS pay review to be completed. The review body has, however, recommended extra increments for merit, worth between £375 and £400, for senior nurses - to improve the scope for career progression and keep skilled staff at the bedside. But the general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, Karlene Davis, warned that these discretionary points would mean a return to local pay determination. In a full year the pay bill for the nurses' pay award will be £351m. Linda Beecham BMJ Home | Current issue | Past issues | Classified ads | Career Focus | Feedback Collections | About this site | About the BMJ | BMA | Medline