A pay deal announced between government and unions “just scratches the surfaces” of workforce needs in health and social care, according to Fiona Millington, chief nurse at Florence.

A majority of 14 unions representing NHS workers accepted a 5% pay increase and lump sum payment from the government yesterday.

While welcoming the deal, Millington said social care workers had once again been “left in the dark”.

“Without the necessary support, social care workers will continue to be driven away from the industry, further contributing to the deep issues the system is currently facing,” Millington said.

The chief nurse said staff shortages were the “single biggest threat to global healthcare”.

A recent report by Florence, revealed two thirds (63%) of nurses, care assistant and healthcare workers had to choose between food and fuel last winter to combat rising energy bills, while one in five (19%) said they had started using food banks since the cost of living crisis started. A further third (30%) knew colleagues who have started using them.

Millington called for “greater efforts to bring more people into healthcare” along with “enhanced training” in combination with higher pay levels.

Florence empowers nurses and other healthcare professionals to find flexible, fair, and transparent work options. It also enables long-term care homes, hospitals, and other organisations to sustainably fill open shifts in their schedule with highly skilled and vetted healthcare workers.