Pay boost as NHS Forth Valley nursing support staff get promoted

While a national process is underway across NHS Scotland to assess Band 2 support staff against new national Band 2 and Band 3 nursing clinical support worker job profiles, staff in NHS Forth Valley who are successfully matched to the new Band 3 profile will also have their additional pay backdated to June 2019, when Unison

representatives put forward a case to support the re-banding of 48 local support staff.

NHS Forth Valley’s Chief Executive agreed if the work, which commenced in partnership in 2019, looking at health care support worker roles across NHS Forth Valley

was successful, then the backdated pay arrangements would apply to all healthcare support workers who met the criteria of the new Band 3 nursing clinical support

worker profiles.

NHS Forth Valley currently employs over 800 healthcare support workers who assist a wide range of services across the organisation – including inpatient wards, emergency department, assessment units, maternity, community and mental health services.

NHS Forth Valley chief executive Cathie Cowan said: “Work was already underway locally to look at the role and re-banding of healthcare support workers who play an

important role across the organisation.

“I’m pleased we have reached an agreement with Unison which will ensure all staff who are matched to the new nursing clinical support worker role receive around

three years of backdated pay.

"This will help some of our lowest paid staff and recognises the additional duties which many healthcare support workers have taken on over the last few years.”

Karren Morrison, Unison’s NHS Forth Valley branch secretary, said: “While the posts have to go through the formal evaluation process against the new national nursing clinical support worker profiles, I’m confident this will result in the vast majority of nursing support staff being successfully rebranded.

"This not only gives this important group of staff the potential to take home an extra £2000 each year but also provides a substantial lump sum in backdated pay which will make a big difference in these very difficult financial times.”