A former Lincolnshire health visitor believes poor pay and working conditions are to blame for the current local issues in the industry and not the coronavirus pandemic and national shortage indicated by the county council.due to temporarily reduced health visitor services across the county.
Nicola Robbins has 20 years experience in the NHS, including working as a nurse for Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust. She also worked as a health visitor for around seven years before the service was taken over by the council in 2017.strike against the county councilNicola, who now works within the NHS outside of Lincolnshire, said some of the workforce she knew left at the time in 2019 as they “would not be bullied into poorer terms and conditions than even the NHS offer”.
“Meanwhile, new health visitors from other regions were being recruited onto council contracts which created a 2-tier workforce of ‘senior’ and ‘junior’ health visitors; this was not based upon length or qualifications. The council declined to offer NHS contracted HVs a pay increase unless they signed a council contract offering lower pay and poorer terms and conditions.
“It is no surprise that Lincolnshire – as a remote county covering a large area is now struggling to recruit and retain health visitors after the way they treated the original experienced workforce who had worked for the NHS for years.