Funds exhausted and options limited in nursing pay row, Manx Care says

Manx Care and the Royal College of Nursing have been in a dispute over pay for two years

Funds have been exhausted and there are limited options available in the ongoing dispute with nurses over pay and conditions, Manx Care has said.

It comes after members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) toured the island to express their concerns.

Nurses rejected the latest offer of a 6% rise with a £1,000 lump sum in June.

A Manx Care spokeswoman said all funding that had been received by the organisation for pay awards had "already been used".

A total of 10% in pay uplifts have been awarded since 2021, however union members have said a further 5% was still needed to attract more people into the profession to ensure safe staffing levels at the two island hospitals and in community healthcare.

'Staffing shortfalls'

About 550 union members are employed by Manx Care.

The spokeswoman said the health care provider's options "remain limited due to our financial constraints and having exhausted our funding allocation".

Manx Care recognised "funded staffing levels, particularly within inpatient areas, had fallen behind those in the UK NHS" and had undertaken a review into safe staffing as a result, she said.

The number of nurses funded to work on several of the wards had been increased to recognise the requirement for additional nursing staff, she continued.

However, despite those efforts there remained "some staffing shortfalls", as the health body often continued to rely on "long-term agency staff" as well as overtime by existing staff, she added.

While there was no new offer from the provider following the first ever walk-out by nurses on the island last month, Manx Care said it remained open to dialogue with the RCN.