Healthcare staff are increasingly turning down extra shifts because of the high cost of fuel. According to the professional body NU’91, many workers are losing money because their travel expenses do not cover their actual costs. Chairwoman Femke Merel van Kooten argued that it is unacceptable for healthcare professionals to effectively pay for the privilege of doing their jobs.
To address this, NU’91 is calling on healthcare organisations to support their staff more effectively. The organisation believes travel reimbursements must be updated to match current petrol and diesel prices so that employees are not left out of pocket. They also suggest that employers should be more mindful when creating rotas to ensure that any unnecessary travel is kept to an absolute minimum.
These concerns follow a survey of over a thousand healthcare workers regarding their recent experiences. The findings reportedly showed that the rising financial pressure is causing a significant amount of stress and frustration among staff across the sector.
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