28 September 2001
'The government is trying to find ways of getting people to stay in or come into the NHS in a tight labour market without dramatically putting up pay. The government has to get real. People are not going to be attracted by 2% above inflation. Governments believe that putting money into pay means taking money away from patient care. That's nonsense in a system where 70% of the funds is spent on staff,' he said.
He added that NHS employers should be working in partnership with staff and involving them in decisions.
'You have got to use the potential in people. People often come up with ideas that you would never have dreamed they would accept.
'Porters are communications and logistics experts. They are one of the few people who have a holistic function throughout the hospital – they know where everything is, who everyone is and what's going wrong,' he added.
PFsep2001