AQW 11498/17-22


Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast


Tabled Date: 03/12/2020
Answered On Date: 23/12/2020
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of nurses, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust, categorised as district nurses by his Department who (i) hold the district nursing specialist qualification; and (ii) do not hold the district nursing specialist qualification; and to specify the Agenda for Change banding and level of remuneration for each of these two groups.


Answer:
Information on the number of district nursing staff (band 5 and above) employed in each Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust is detailed in the table below.
District Nursing Staff Employed
HSC Trust
With district nursing specialist qualification
Without district nursing specialist qualification
Belfast
55
102
Northern
43.0 WTE
180.5 WTE
South Eastern
58.1 WTE
128.8 WTE
Southern
69
144
Western
56
188
Source: HSC Trusts
Current district nursing staff employed in a role requiring a district nursing specialist qualification are Agenda for Change (AfC) bands 6 to 8A (basic salary £31,365 - £51,668). Some staff employed at AfC band 5 (basic salary £24,907 - £30,615) hold the qualification but are waiting to apply for a specialist district nurse vacancy when one becomes available.
Other nursing staff in district nursing teams employed in a role not requiring a district nursing specialist qualification are on AfC bands ranging from 5 to 8B currently (basic salary £24,907 - £62,001).