The plan to employ an extra 4,200 health visitors a victory for
Unite’s campaign
9 February 2011
The announcement of detailed plans of how 4,200 extra health
visitors will be employed is the successful turning point of a
six-year campaign, Unite, the largest union in the country, said
today (Wednesday 9 February).
Unite, which embraces the Community Practitioners’ and Health
Visitors’ Association, has campaigned since 2005 against the steep
decline in the profession and said that it would be monitoring very
closely the funding and recruitment of the extra health visitors.
The campaign will now focus on ensuring the changes are implemented
as promised.
The ‘health visitors implementation plan’ sets out how a bigger,
rejuvenated workforce with an extra 4,200 health visitors will be
created by 2015.
Unite’s lead professional officer, Obi Amadi, said: ”This is a
rare piece of hopeful news at a time when the NHS is being battered
by £20 billion of so-called ‘efficiency savings,’ and more
reorganisation and expensive upheaval.
”However, this implementation plan is the most positive change
for health visitors in a very long time. We plan to work with
ministers to see this through to its conclusion and beyond the 2015
target date. Achieving this number will require a real effort by
all concerned, but we think it can be done.
”The money for the recruitment, training and employment of
health visitors will be distributed centrally by the new NHS
commissioning board.
”The strategic health authorities (SHAs) have been given to the
end of March to come up with plans as to how they will implement
this action plan. We will be watching closely how this is all
panning out.
”The plan has been a long time coming and we won’t expect a
large tranche of new health visitors being trained until the
academic year 2012-2013.”
Because of the decline in the profession and the need to combat
the growing wave of social problems caused by the government’s
austerity programme, Unite has repeatedly said that an extra 8,000
health visitors need to be employed in the next five years.
ENDS
For more information contact Unite press officer: Liane Groves
07793 661 657
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