References

Ashwood L, Macrae A, Marsden P Recruitment and retention in general practice nursing: What about pay?. Practice Nursing. 2018; 29:(2)83-87 https://doi.org/10.12968/pnur.2018.29.2.83

NHS England. General Practice Forward View. 2016. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/gpfv.pdf (accessed 6 January 2020)

NHS England. General Practice – Developing confidence, capability and capacity. A ten point action plan for General Practice Nursing. 2017. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/general-practicenursing-ten-point-plan-v17.pdf (accessed 6 January 2020)

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Pay, terms and conditions for primary care nursing teams

02 May 2020
Volume 31 · Issue 5

Abstract

With recruitment into primary care slow and pay structures still up for debate, Paula Marsden reveals how Primary Care Networks and the new Allied Health Professional roles can assist general practices in retaining nurses

The Government has promised to deliver 50 000 more nurses and to partially reinstate the student nurse bursary plan. One programme that has been successful in creating a more rigid career framework for primary care nurses is the General Practice Nursing 10 Point Plan (GPN10PP) (NHS England, 2017). However, the GPN10PP omitted any reference to pay, terms and conditions. Furthermore, the number of nurses moving out of the community setting and into general practice remains slow, due to general practices' ability to provide adequate training placements. This paper discusses how the newly formed Primary Care Networks (PCNs) can aid in improving recruitment, as well as how to improve pay, terms and conditions for primary care nurses.

In Practice Nursing in 2018, an article entitled ‘Recruitment and Retention in general practice nursing: What about pay?’ was published (Ashwood et al, 2018). What has happened in the two years since? We are now into a new decade, with a new government whose manifesto pledges great things for nursing: to deliver 50 000 more nurses and to partially reinstate the student nurse bursaries axed two years previously.

The General Practice Nursing 10 Point Plan (GPN10PP) (NHS England, 2017) has helped to create a more formalised structure and subsequent career pathway for primary care nursing. Lead teams, though many and varied in approach, are now coming together and with funding support from Health Education England (HEE), are able to train nurses new to primary care and develop them on their way to Advanced Clinical Practitioners. However, as with many other key documents and tools, the GPN10PP omitted any reference to pay, terms and conditions.

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