SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan has called for an enhancement in the current mileage allowance rates for domiciliary staff, community nurses and other NHS staff who travel for work, in line with increased fuel prices.
The NHS employee reimbursement rate is capped at 56p per mile up to 3,500 miles per year and 20p a mile thereafter however, the department temporarily raised this to 30p a mile.
Mr Durkan received confirmation from the Department of Health that negotiations with Trade Unions and employers around a new Agenda for Change mileage rate are ongoing.
Said the Foyle MLA: “Temporary improvements in the basic mileage rate were welcome but staff deserve clarity on a permanent enhancement.
“The mileage rate hasn’t been properly reviewed since 2014 and while the allowance may have been considered fair eight years ago, it is hardly reasonable in the current financial climate at a time when inflation rates have reached a 40-year high.
“Not a week passes where I’m not contacted about the pressures facing staff providing healthcare in the community. Domiciliary carers and our community nurses are the backbone of the social care system.
“They go above and beyond to provide essential care to our community’s most vulnerable members. However, the mileage rate, essentially the amount of money which staff can claim for work related travel, is nowhere near the level it needs to be.
“Some of these staff for example, junior nurses are already woefully underpaid. They can’t hold out to escalating fuel costs.
“These staff are often using their own vehicles, battling increasing demand for their services, travelling significant distances each week. It’s only fair that they receive adequate compensation in light of the invaluable role the play.
“The reality is that the existing mileage allowance doesn’t cut it, leaving staff out of pocket and sadly, in some cases forcing them to leave the health service in search of more lucrative employment opportunities.
“After raising this matter with the Health Minister, he has confirmed that negotiations are ongoing around an agreement on new AfC mileage rates.
“I’ll keep pushing on this issue and hope to receive positive news soon.
“These staff can’t afford to keep subsidising the health service and the health service can’t afford to lose them.”
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