Sunday 31 March 2013

Not The Time Or The Place

In recent years the concept of the e-petition has got a lot bigger and in many cases has been used effectively. Like anything that can be created by anyone online it is left open to misuse. In America a similar principle led to a petition to get the US government to build the Death Star as seen Star Wars! The point of the e-petition as set out on the government website is 'If you have a strong opinion about an issue relating to our policies which you’d like to raise you can register it as an e-petition'. Recently The Oliver King Foundation petitioned for defibrillators to be installed in all schools and wanted legislation to back that up. Sadly the House of Commons debate didn't get the result we all wanted but it showed the power of the e-petition.

My issue, is with the misuse of e-petitions for personal gain. I'm sure I'll get a lot of complaints and abuse from my fellow professionals for this, but I am totally against a recent e-petition for more money for paramedics. Let me explain why!

Entitled 'Increase UK Paramedic Pay to NHS Agenda for Change pay Band 6' the title cuts to point but is this a) appropriate and b) how we want our profession to be portrayed? 
Paramedic training requires them to undertake Advanced Driving qualifications and attend an approved Paramedic Course via an Ambulance Service or University to register as a Paramedic. Many Paramedics go on to complete Bachelors and Masters Degrees and even Doctorates. As the Senior Ambulance Service healthcare professional the Paramedic takes complete clinical responsibility at accidents or medical emergencies. Paramedics assess patient's using and interpreting high-tech equipment, such as defibrillators, monitoring equipment, ECG’s, and spinal and traction splints. As autonomous clinicians they have over 40 drugs at their disposal and the ability to perform life saving procedures. Add to that the injuries caused by constantly carrying heavy equipment, manual handling of patients, abuse, assaults, ever increasing demand, cuts in Ambulance Service funding and public sector pensions, we ask you, the government, to pay Paramedics what they deserve.
Don't get me wrong, it is a challenging job and there are a lot of areas that need improving but asking for more money in this way is not the way to go about it. For starters, if an e-petition is being set up it needs to be done so by a body representative of the profession, not an individual. We are represented by the College of Paramedics but the fact they havn't even obtained a royal status due to lack of member speaks volumes about the lack of voice we have in the medical community. If we want a voice, we need to speak together. Add to that, the fact that the petition itself is badly written and reads like Oliver Twist asking for more gruel, it can give little confidence in the cause. It hardly paints us in a good image where we can be taken seriously when the petition a) refers to 'patient's' not 'patients' and b) is asking for money despite highlighting the ambulance service is facing a funding cut!

Sure, we have to do a driving course and yes, some have degrees. We do make clinical decisions and use the equipment we are trained to. It's true, we give lots of drugs and carry heavy patients and yes, the carrying of bags is a pain but that is the job we applied to do. We knew the salary when we applied, we knew patients and bags need carrying and we are compensated for it. Obviously, I would like more money, who wouldn't, but compared to the national average salary we are paid well. We are all in relatively secure jobs with sick pay, annual leave and a pension. In the economic climate where there are 1000's of people queuing for jobs when a new supermarket opens and 100,000s are facing the very real threat of unemployment, asking for a pay rise is hugely inappropriate. It is not the time, nor the place. 

The question of banding of salaries came about in the now outdated Agenda for Change and our job role has change a lot since then. Our skill-set has expanded and we now have a lot more clinical responsibility than we did. A registered paramedic is no longer a Band 5 job and I do think that the salary bands need modernising but an e-petition is not the way to do it. E-petitions should be left to things that benefit society as whole and will make a real difference to the country, not a small body of people.

We all know there is salary disparity across the country and it is wrong that a manager in McDonalds earns more than a paramedic but salaries cannot be quantified across the public and the private sector. If there is an e-petition for paramedics to get more money, there could be just as many reasons for a nurse to get more. And an HCA, an EMT, an ECA, an ECP, a junior doctor, the list is endless. There is no more money. The reason every department in the NHS is facing cuts is testament to this. Do we really think the government and even the general public are interested in increasing the wage bill when everyone else is feeling the pinch? We could debate for days and days the rights and wrongs of NHS cuts and the real cause of the economic climate we are facing but the fact is, as a country, we are in the shit. Now is the time to be securing people's jobs and securing the delivery of free health care to the masses, not lining our own pockets.

So, without further ado, I now open this post to debate and abuse. I'm expecting the same backlash as when I criticised the unions! Bring it! 

30 comments:

  1. The reason why I've not signed the petition is for that exact reason - it's cringeworthy. I'd rather not be aligned to that poorly written begging letter thanks very much.

    I pay my dues to CoP and expect them to forward the interests of the profession, if the person who started the petition feels so strongly they should work with CoP rather than setting out on their own.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Richard but you've signed it without making a point....

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  3. Registered paramedics totally deserve more than a band 5 wage (especially those with extended skills sets) but like you said...there just isn't the money. Another well written post, as always x

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    1. The bands need a review but a petition isn't the way!

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  4. Ah 13:20, such an eloquent reply! Was it you that wrote the petition?

    I'm afraid to say I agree with you Ella! You all deserve a Band above at least. This is however not the way to go about it. Also in the current financial climate it is never going to happen. There is no money, that's all there is to it. If there was to be a re-banding now, it would be the beginning of the end of the service as we know it. This is a risk anyway with the changes already underway. Lets not give the powers that be any more excuses to outsource to the private sector.

    If Paramedics banding goes up, then all the others will have to change too. There is only so much money in the pot, so it goes without saying that if a bigger slice of that goes to each individual, that will result in a reduction in numbers. The service is short enough now. You make a lot of good points. And to be fair I just don't think the wider public support would be there in these current times.

    Lets try and protect this thing we call the NHS first, if it survives the next couple of years, then maybe that's the time to fight the next battle in the right way?

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  5. I already have huge respect for you but this tops it! My son is a paramedic who has signed the petition and I'm embarrassed by him. Life is unfair but you knew that before you took the job on. It's no different for teachers, doctors, nurses, police or any other calling.
    Yes, you should have a massive pay rise but it ain't going to happen so if you don't like it, get out!
    Well said Ella, it's what makes you the brilliant paramedic you are!

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  6. I think there is the money - every welfare/public spending cut has been matched with a tax break for ppl who are currently doing better than most, and much of the spending increases we ARE seeing are on PFI and financing costs, but I take your point completely. There are a lot of wrongs to be righted, but start with the economy generally before looking at individuals within it. Any flames you receive are prob from ppl who read it through too quickly.

    Well said.

    Drinky.

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  7. What an utterly stupid thing to write! Yes we knew the salary when we joined, but we didn't know they'd cut our USHs, CSD and constantly mess around with our T&Cs.

    With yet another year of increased petrol prices, household fuel and water bills and the very real problem of having to try to sell my home for a price that's now nearly 40 grand under what I paid for it.
    Why don't you try and convince my family that this is "not the time, nor the place?"

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    1. Are you that naive that you think paramedics are the only ones feeling the pinch? Do you really think an e-petition is the way to get change in salaries. There is no money. Call me stupid all you like but that's a fact. Where is this extra money coming from? I didn't say I was happy with the change in T & CS but every profession is experiencing the same problem. E-petitions are there for the public to have a voice about policy that effects this country, not for a tiny percentage of the population who are earning £10,000 above the national average to petition a badly written rant about wanting more money. Yes we deserve more for the role we have but this is NOT the time or the place to ask for it. Your family better learn to like that reality or lump it.

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    2. Where in that post does it call you stupid? It's says its a stupid thing to write. Calling them naive? What's naive is trying to get a "surprised" reaction from your readers that basically says that Ambulance worker disagrees with push for pay rise. I agree that times are hard for a lot of people but as you said yourself, a manager at McDonald's gets more than a paramedic!
      I personally agree with the comment. This is a silly thing to write about and should be deleted.

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    3. Come on! Do you really think e-petition is the way to do it? Do you really think it was well written? Did I say we are on the right band? Did I say we deserve more? Please read it before commenting or you look silly! I've had 40+ replies on twitter and Facebook from paramedic who agree. One you two who don't. The petition made me cringe. You are yet to give any argument as to why the e-petition is the way to go. You need to get real! Oh, and if you think I will delete this post because you think it's silly you are sadly mistaken. May write another one about it just for fun.

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    4. I was sighing at you..!

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    5. Clearly you missed my sarcasm. Just like you missed the points made in the blog.

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  8. This is a good post, Ella, but I have to say you're being a little hypocritical questioning this guy's grammar when you write "I know open this post..."

    Other than that, the points you raise are valid.

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    1. Edit made! Point taken, but it's an e-petition representing a profession on a government website wanting to gain 100,000 signatures. It should be beyond reproach!

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  9. I'm not a paramedic nor do I live in the UK, I have the joy of living in America where the economy's financial situation isn't great either. And I have to agree with you, this isn't the time to be going about asking for higher pay. The money needed for pay increases just doesn't exist right now. Petitions over here have been trying to do the same thing and it is only further harming the economy, such as raising the national minimum wage, or the Obama Care Act. Both of which are examples of things that started out as petitions and actually were put into effect and they have had a crippling effect on this country. It's now a major competition to even get a job a McDonalds. 80-90 year olds have been forced to come out of retirement because they now are desperate for money. Unemployment had skyrocketed and employers are refusing to higher because of the extreme cost to them. Its a rather ugly situation now. This was not the time for the US to go about raising wages and creating high;y expenses on the people acts but it did and the effect is already disastrous and these changes are only new, in 2014 when they fully hit I can only fear what will happen. I pray your government has more sense to not make the same mistakes. Yes wages are outdated these days, but the overall economy needs to be fixed well before we think of the few over the many.

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    1. Very good point! I'm for the Obama Care Act personally but perhaps not how it's being implemented. The NHS has worked wonders in this country but trying to implement such huge legislation is costly!

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    2. I think that it is likely the implementation that is the problem. If they had very gradually brought it into the mix I don't think it would be causing as many problems. But when my monthly insurance premiums went from 354 to 786 in a single month's time due to Obama Care or "Affordable Care" (whichever you wish to call it) I find myself having issues with it, which even with the raised minimum wage it is no where close to affordable. While national health care would have its advantages the costs to an already struggling economy are doing more harm than good. Big companies either can't afford to insure every last employee because of the dramatic price increase and the increased minimum wage or they simply aren't willing to take such a substantial hit to their profits. Small businesses are going under and so are bigger ones. And the ones who are surviving this are raising their prices dramatically for goods which just adds to the problem. A good idea that was gone about in the absolute wrong way sadly. Costly legislation wasn't the way to go about things right now. Just watch the US's debt clock for oh about an hour. Rather painful to watch actually.

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  10. I don't buy the 'we knew the pay/risks/amount of shit we'd be shovelling when we took the job' because the same could have been said to any worker during the general strike even. Doesn't make it right when the alternative is dole or another low-pay job - band 5 is not a great wage. Look at it this way - if you swapped jobs with David Cameron, you could probably get away with it for a bloody long time before someone stepped in and said, 'er, think you've messed up enough now'. He wouldn't even know how to load the ambulance. Yet who is paid vast amounts more? You are on the same wage as a newly-qualified physio - that isn't right. The banding needs review, and surely there is a pay review body you can appeal to, or get COP to? The petition definitely isn't the way to go, agreed there. Must've missed the post about the unions, cos I'd probably not have agreed!

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    1. I think the prime minister should be paid a lot! He is the prime minister after all! He earns a fraction of what the US president earns and a fraction of what most low level bankers earn! I agree with you about the banding. It wasn't that I was happy with our money, its that a petition isnt the way to go. Of the 18,000 registered paramedics only 3,500 are member of the CoP. If we dont have the respect of our profession to be a member of its professional body we cant expect to be taken seriously by a petition!

      As for the union posts, generally I am anti-union. They had a place in the workplace years ago but now they are hugely outdated in my opinion. They havent done much for us in recent years and personally, when I have needed them twice they did nothing to support me. Didn't even reply to emails requesting for help. Therefor I cancelled my membership!

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    2. There's your problem, right there! Not enough people nowadays are joineing unions thanks to Thatcher and her little minions. Unions are not the devil, unions are there for every worker in this country and if I could advise anyone one thing it would be 'learn the red flags for sociopathy and join a union'. Oh, that's two, Oh well....

      Everyone should encourage their workmates to join a union. The problem comes when you are having to say, 'I emailed...' Shit. Quit that union and join one where you have a union rep on site. They won't know everything, but they have access to so much support, and being right there is really important and the way it is historically meant to be. Or become the union rep for your hospital or whatever. That is what I did.

      Unions are not outdated, they are still the main way negotiations take place (er, maybe this is why physios are better off than ambulance paramedics?), and they are a MASSIVE protection to every worker, especially since the removal of legal aid - if you are unfairly dismissed, who will fund your court case?

      I kind of chose the PM as an example. But if you have so much power and perks, who needs a big wage? I'd do it for my wage.

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    3. My decision about unions isn't based on Thatcher or any particular campaign against them. I was a member of Unison for 11 years in total. My decision wasn't based on one email not returned either. It is based on the behaviour of unions in general in recent years, holding this country to ransom, causing more harm than good. Train unions....brings country to a standstill for nothing more than greed. Fire union.....not only strikes putting lives at risk but physically prevent others do the job whilst they are striking. Unions strike last year for the ambulance service....again, putting lives at risk. That isn't why I do the job I do. Striking in my opinion is verging on archaic behaviour and is not productive. Regarding my local rep. I don't have one, I have 3 on my station alone. I copied them all in including the sector rep. I saw them all on station in person and they would always 'get back to me'. They may well be protection for unfair dismissal but there are other ways to get that provided.

      Obviously we'll have to agree to disagree! I don't think unions are the way forward and I think they are holding this country back. If they were so powerful would these health care reforms that no one wants really be going through? They don't have the power they once had and this renders them useless in my opinion. And that is all it is, my opinion!

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  11. My husband works as a signmaker. His wages have not increased by either performance or inflation in over 4 years and for several months he had to drop to a 4 day week. We cut back, got by and we're still ok. It makes me so, so mad when people demand more money for the job they are in when there is clearly no money in the pot. Most people get a fair deal and I'm sure we all wish we had more money coming in but strikes / epetitions are not the answer.

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