The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has urged the government to implement a pay scale that would see salaries for NHS-employed registered nurses start in the region of £35,000 during preceptorship.
The RCN has also suggested that salaries should progress towards £50,000 and beyond for enhanced, advanced and consultant levels of nursing in the NHS.
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The suggestions form part of the RCN’s response to a government consultation into the introduction of a separate pay structure for NHS nursing staff in England.
Such a pay scale would not apply to general practice nurses (GPNs) – an issue that has previously sparked questions and calls for fair pay for GPNs.
The RCN consultation response also includes a recommendation for NHS nursing support workers to receive a starting salary of at least £27,500.
According to the college, fixed financial sums should be attributed to the acquisition of specific qualifications or specialist practice.
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The RCN added that a new pay structure, underpinned by a new nursing career framework, would ensure nursing staff are better rewarded and able to access clearly defined career pathways to advanced career levels.
Currently, three-quarters of all registered nurses in England’s NHS are in bands 5 and 6 – the bottom two pay bands for registrants.
Professor Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, expressed her desire for the nursing career pathway to be ‘smashed wide open’.
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She said: ‘Whether you take on management roles or not, your knowledge and excellence as a nursing professional has to be recognised.
‘We are opening the biggest public and political conversation about the value of nursing, and we will tell the sceptics why nursing is unique, why patients need us and why we deserve better,’ Professor Cullen added.
