Unison Cambridge University & Royal Papworth Hospitals

04/03/2026

Have Your Say on CUH Nursing Profiles – Important Update for Nurse Members
Dear Nurse members,

We have recently been visiting wards and speaking with Band 5 nurses about the new nursing profiles the Trust is developing. This work is being rolled out across all nursing bands in stages and has been requested by NHS England, following UNISON’s successful national reprofiling campaign that saw Healthcare Assistants moved from Band 2 to Band 3.

For the nursing profiles to genuinely reflect the work you carry out every day at CUH, it’s essential that nurses are actively involved in the process. The branch is committed to ensuring that this isn’t something that simply happens to you — your experiences and expertise must shape the outcome.

To support this, we are offering several ways for you to take part:

How You Can Get Involved
Attend our campaign meeting
Learn more about the process, what it means for you, and how you can have your say.

Monday 16/03/2026 | 14:00–15:00
Microsoft Teams Meeting
Join link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3150367770058?p=6MnxT49TrMG2wXCT8H
Meeting ID: 315 036 777 005 8
Passcode: DA9hY3Sz

Book a one‑to‑one meeting
We can go through the survey together and review your contract.
Arrange a team meeting visit
We’re happy to meet groups on wards or in departments.
To book a one‑to‑one, organise a visit, or find out more about getting involved in the campaign, please contact:
Joe Beastall – UNISON Area Organiser
📧 j.beastall@unison.co.uk
More Information
Find out more about the national nurse rebanding campaign here:
https://www.unison.org.uk/at-work/health-care/representing-you/nursing/right-band-for-the-job/

Nurses are taking on more responsibility for patient care, dealing with patients with increasingly complex co-morbidities, acting with greater autonomy, and developing specialist clinical skills. Job descriptions for too many nurses have not been regularly updated to reflect their responsibilities,....

27/02/2026

UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan: “The Greens won because Labour under Starmer has abandoned progressive values, imitating the far-right instead of taking the fight to them.

If the government wants to survive, it urgently needs to stand up for workers and defend our fundamental values.”

UNISON comment on Gorton and Denton result: https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2026/02/green-win-must-mark-a-change-of-direction-for-labour-says-unison-leader/

20/02/2026

A bridge on the guided busway in Cambridge will close for three months for safety works to take place.
More below.

12/02/2026

💬 “Hard-pressed NHS staff will be downright angry at another below-inflation pay award.”
UNISON says today’s announcement leaves workers feeling ignored and undervalued.
Read more ⬇️
https://buff.ly/p80b5qK

05/02/2026

Coroner tells NHS trust to improve nurse staffing after a woman died following multiple falls in hospital, despite having been assessed as at increased risk of falls. The coroner pointed to continued short-staffing on a frailty ward, stating action is needed to prevent further deaths.

02/02/2026

Please see below notification from the Philippine Nurses Association UK:

____

Empowering Healthcare Workers Through Legal Knowledge

Join our upcoming webinar to support healthcare workers and their families in navigating immigration and family law challenges in the UK.

This session brings together specialist legal expertise of Atty. Crystal Dias and community-led advocacy of Kanlungan Filipino Consortium and Philippine Nurses Association UK to share practical information, build confidence, and strengthen collective understanding of rights, protections, and long-term security.

The webinar is part of a wider effort to ensure that healthcare workers are not left to navigate complex legal systems alone, but are supported through shared knowledge and solidarity.

👉🏽 If you work in healthcare and want clarity, confidence, and trusted legal insight—this webinar is for you.

Link here to register 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

26/01/2026

CUH / RPH UNISON at the Minneapolis solidarity event tonight in Cambridge.

20/01/2026

14/01/2026

Important coroner finding.

For too long, the level of care given to patients in NHS trusts has been adjusted to fit staffing levels, and not (as it should be) the other way round.

If you ever have a specialling request refused or overridden, or are a HCSW and you are asked to special more than one falls-risk patient and you feel it’s not safe:

1) Escalate to your Nurse in Charge/Manager/Matron, making sure they are aware that THEY will be accountable if a fall occurs because of inadequate staffing cover.

2) Document, both in the records of any patients affected, and through any official incident reporting system to ensure records of escalation.

3) Talk to your union. We can escalate concerns directly to senior executives within the trust. If you are not a member of a union, go to joinunison.org.

Two older men died after sustaining head injuries following falls in the emergency department of St George’s Hospital in London in February 2024. A coroner’s prevention of future deaths reports has found that their deaths could have been avoided had there been adequate nursing supervision and in...

17/12/2025

Solidarity from CUH/RPH UNISON to all doctors taking industrial action this week.

Great to see all the support from the general public. There is evidently a great deal of appreciation for the work you do, and don’t let any billionaire owned newspaper, professional autocue reader, or disingenuous politician tell you otherwise.

Dave - Branch Chair
Ben - Branch Secretary

17/11/2025

Employment in understaffed services is making nurses sick, according to survey findings from the Royal College of Nursing.