Two district nurses are continuing to fight for a role regrade and related pay rise that was first proposed in a review by their employer in 2018.
The two nurses – employed by NHS Tayside in Scotland – have been ‘consistently’ denied being regraded from band 6 to band 7 for the past six years.
This is despite a job review which is said to have recognised that they had greater responsibilities and more extensive training, including in prescriptions, than colleagues elsewhere in Tayside.
The union GMB Scotland has intervened on behalf of Shona Middleton and Cathy Fugaccia who are both district nurses working in the Scottish council area of Angus.
GMB Scotland has suggested industrial action could be on the cards if immediate implementation of their correct pay grade and backdated pay is not seen.
The job review – which took place between 2018 and 2019 – found that Ms Middleton and Ms Fugaccia deserved to be employed at band 7 rather than band 6.
But NHS Tayside has since refused to implement the change, the union said.
The higher band would now mean a pay rise of up to £7,000 a year, adding up to £42,000 since 2018.
Ms Middleton has been working as a district nurse in Monifeith in Angus for 27 years, and described feeling ‘angry’ and ‘disappointed’ in the process.
‘Our role was assessed as band 7 years ago due to our advanced practice, but the health board has refused to implement the decision. We’ve been given one explanation after another, but the goalposts keep changing,’ she added.
‘Every time we think things are moving forward, we are pushed back again. We are simply trying to be paid fairly for the job we do and have done for years. It’s about fairness and respect.’
Ms Fugaccia has been registered as a district nurse since 1993 and said her efforts to have the review recognised have been ‘a constant burden’.
‘After finishing work, I spend hours writing emails to explain things that have already been explained time and time again,’ she said.
‘It’s not complicated, but every time we feel like we’re making progress, we’re right back at square one.’
GMB Scotland, the union representing both nurses, said long-running discussions have failed to reach a conclusion as the health board continues to ‘drag its feet’.
Karen Leonard, the union’s NHS Scotland organiser, has since written to Scotland’s health secretary Neil Gray, urging him to act to ensure the nurses work is properly recognised and rewarded.
‘Ms Middleton and Ms Fugaccia have consistently been denied reward and recognition for their work,’ she wrote in a letter sent on October 11.
‘Despite repeated efforts to resolve this issue since [2018/19] through agreed policies and processes, job evaluation, grievances, and numerous meetings, NHS Tayside still refuse to recognise the work our members do, and implement the outcome of the job evaluation.’
She added: ‘In previous meetings with yourself, you requested that we bring any issues to you where all avenues have been exhausted.
‘The only avenue left for our members is industrial action which can be avoided with your intervention in securing for our members the immediate implementation of their correct pay grade and backdated pay.’
On October 31, Scottish first minister John Swinney responded to question from Michael Marra MSP at Holyrood, which urged Mr Swinney to ‘take a personal interest’ to ensure the nurses ‘get the money they deserve’.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: ‘We are unable to comment on matters relating to individual members of staff.
‘The district nurse job evaluation has been the subject of a national review by the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC), which is a national partnership group made up of management and staff side representatives and is the ultimate responsible body for job evaluation across NHS Scotland.’
The spokesperson added that the Workforce and Health and Social Care Partnership (WHSCP) colleagues in Tayside had recently ‘engaged in detailed discussions’ with the affected staff and union representations, focusing on the outstanding elements of the district nurse job evaluation process and outlining the available options.
GMB Scotland believes the STAC meeting is part of a wider ongoing pay review that does not reflect the specific demands of Ms Middleton and Ms Fugaccia.
NHS Tayside declined to provide further comment on the STAC meeting.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘We would urge all parties to work together to reach a resolution to this issue between NHS Tayside and district nurses.
‘Given that there are well-established independent processes designed to resolve such disputes, it would not be appropriate for ministers to be involved, although they continue to receive ongoing updates.’
