THE EFFECT THE NHS COULD HAVE ON SOCIAL CARE

£700 per shift?

So an ambulance driver in the NHS is being offered £700 to do a New Year’s Eve shift.

This is almost as much as home care workers earn in a fortnight.

What are the implications of this?

Firstly it sets expectations within the NHS. This remember is an organisation that through its powerful unions is always demanding more taxpayers’ money, claiming it is woefully under-funded.

One would hope the NHS itself would not classify such payments as “investment”. Investment does not mean paying existing staff significant sums. It means expanding or improving the service.

Secondly such remuneration screws the market for private providers of social care. They simply cannot afford anything like such amounts. Gradually the NHS will entice more and more workers away from social care.

This is not fair.