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Press release: NHS Employers response to Kings Fund report on Agenda for Change30 Jul 2007 Responding to the King's Fund report Realising the Benefits? Assessing the Implementation of Agenda for Change, Alastair Henderson, Deputy Director of NHS Employers, which represents trusts on workforce issues, said: "Agenda for Change provides a fairer and more transparent pay system for the NHS. By itself it can not improve care for patients. It is a tool for managers to use to help make the changes they need to improve services for patients. It is clear that Agenda for Change is increasingly being used locally to help deliver those improvements. "One of the original intentions of Agenda for Change was to give NHS staff better and fairer pay with a view to improving recruitment and retention. This has been achieved and I think it is something to be celebrated. "Every job in the NHS has been now been systematically evaluated and then allocated to a pay band. It means that everyone with comparable jobs is now given equal pay and we have produced a pay system we are confident provides equal pay for work of equal value into the future. This advantage should not be underestimated. "The report recognises the importance of the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF), which has been designed to give staff a greater opportunity to develop their careers through annual appraisals, personal development plans and better links between skills development and career progression to the benefit of staff and the service. "Within the national Social Partnership Forum we have recognised that NHS organisations are not yet reaping the full benefit of the KSF, That is why the trade unions, the Department of Health and ourselves are working to refresh the KSF and show how it can be used in a simple manner to support both individual members of staff and NHS organisations." "We would welcome a systematic, long-term audit of Agenda for Change and would be keen to participate in whatever way we could." Notes for editorsFurther information on NHS Employers is available at www.nhsemployers.org Contact detailsThe 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:
For out of hours media enquiries, please contact the duty press officer on 07880 500726. Last reviewed 30 Jul 2007 |
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