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Press release: Agenda for Change agreement is an NHS landmark, says NHS Employers

23 Nov 2004

'Today's agreement is a landmark for the NHS, its workforce and its patients' says NHS Employers welcoming the announcement that trade unions and NHS management have agreed to proceed with implementation of Agenda for Change. 

The announcement follows today's NHS Staff Council meeting where staff-side and management-side representatives met to approve collectively the Agenda for Change pay deal.

Alastair Henderson, Deputy Director of NHS Employers, said that both the NHS workforce and patients will benefit from this agreement:

'Today's agreement signals the start of something new and exciting for the NHS.  Agenda for Change is more than just a pay deal.  It represents a landmark opportunity to improve the NHS for staff and for patients.  By supporting recruitment, retention and the development of new roles and opportunities for employees, Agenda for Change will help contribute to improvements in patient care'.

Alastair concluded: 'The last six years have been very challenging but without a doubt we now have the right outcome for staff and for patients. 

The scale of Agenda for Change cannot be underestimated.  It is the most radical reform of the NHS pay system since the NHS began in 1948 and applies to over one million staff.  Implementation will be a huge challenge and will be working closely with the Modernisation Agency to take the new pay deal forward. 

The next few months will be a very busy time as we will also be taking forward negotiations on the unsocial hours element of Agenda for Change'.

Notes for editors

1. NHS Employers, the employers' organisation for the NHS in England, was launched on 1 November 2004.
2. Agreement between the Department of Health and NHS unions on Agenda for Change was reached in November 2002.
3. Unison voted to support Agenda for Change on 9 November and Amicus on 12 November
4. For further information on NHS Employers or on Agenda for Change, please contact Emma Stafford on 020 7959 7258 or see our website.

Contact details

The press office provides a comprehensive service to keep journalists informed about the work of NHS Employers.

If you have a media enquiry, please contact the press office team:

• Gemma Jeffcoate
  0207 074 3308 or gemma.jeffcoate@nhsemployers.org
• Emma Stafford
  0207 074 3307 or emma.stafford@nhsemployers.org

For out of hours media enquiries, please contact the duty press officer on 07880 500726.

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