the union has demanded that its members receive a rise in response to the cost of living crisis. earlier this year, the government accepted the recommendations of the independent nhs pay review body to give nurses a £1,a00 pay rise. though routine appointments will be affected by the strikes, nurses will still be able to provide emergency and ongoing care. urgent tests and scans will still go ahead for vulnerable patients. gp services should be unaffected because nurses working in practices weren t eligible to take part in the ballot. the rcn s general secretary, pat cullen has criticised what she describes as unsafe staffing levels and low levels of pay. industrial action in scotland will not go ahead as pay negotiations continue. laura foster reports.
and with freedom in those countries. sarah, thank you very much. official figures show there currently 900,000 people with dementia in the uk. and social care providers are warning that millions of people could be left without support, unless there is a complete overhaul of the system. care england, which is the body that represents independent services, says a proper vision is needed, or the nhs will be on its knees . jeremy cooke reports. are we ready for our lovely.? wendy hughes is bringing care into the community. your medication, sweetheart. really? whey aye. ..to mark, an ex navy diver now living with dementia. that s fabulous. for mark and his family, this is priceless help. i ll do the dishes. next stop the bathroom. but today s poll by ipsos mori for bbc news suggests more than 70% of people aged over 55 are not confident that care is reaching many of those who need it. a shortage of staff like wendy lies at the heart of what many call the care crisis. let s go.
situations ahead. the workforce who are the lifeblood of everything we do and revalue them considerably, they are the ones we are not able to get. there are vacancies in our sector which are beyond comprehension. there are vacancies in the nhs and there is nojoined up thinking going on. we have coronavirus on the rise and the cost of living on the energy crisis is having a major impact on the stability of businesses where people are really worried. this is october and we are hearing about our in care homes and hearing about providers being very concerned because they just cannot get the workforce and we cannot rely on agencies because they are bleeding the sector drive. they are bleeding the sector drive. they are charging extortionate rates of money to suppliers. . so are charging extortionate rates of money to suppliers. . are charging extortionate rates of money to suppliers. . so what is the answer? the
and that it s a matter for local authorities and other care providers. but it is planning to invest £15 million to recruit more staff from overseas. the care sector wants radical, urgent change. if we get this wrong, there ll be hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people who will be in crisis. we ll have an nhs that will be absolutely clogged with people and the entire system, both health and social care, will be on its knees. so the stakes here are extremely high. it s been a year since the government announced plans to introduce a national insurance levy in part to help improve adult social care. wonderful. that s now been scrapped, leaving carers and care providers asking where the money will come from. jeremy cooke, bbc news, newcastle. now we can have a cup of coffee. we re joined now by nadra ahmed, who is the chair of the national care association, which represents small and medium sized care providers
and affiliated local associations. just picking up on that statistic, more than 70% of those over 75 are not confident there will be the support they need. what are you seeing in terms of people not getting the support they need? i think the level of need is now pretty much out of control, which is putting pressure on the nhs and on a&e services and then on the beds being used in the nhs itself. this is just unacceptable. consistent lies being told about fixing social care and nothing tangible being done to take any reform forward. hagar care and nothing tangible being done to take any reform forward. to take any reform forward. how are ou to take any reform forward. how are you feeling to take any reform forward. how are you feeling about to take any reform forward. how are you feeling about the to take any reform forward. how are you feeling about the winter - to take any reform forward. how are you feeling about the winter ahead? j you feeling about the winter ahead? i think