Sandwell Hospital chiefs in living wage pledge
Hundreds of hospital workers in Sandwell and Birmingham are in line for a pay boost after bosses pledged to offer them the living wage.
Toby Lewis said he hopes the move which will ensure all staff at Sandwell Hospital get at least the £7.85 per hour wage will be mirrored across the NHS.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust has earmarked £35,000 this year to cover the increase in wages.
A total of 225 staff, mostly health care assistants, will receive the pay boost from October 1.
The living wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK.
All band one and lower spine band two - the lowest of current NHS pay bands - workers in the organisation will have a change in salary. The move doesn't include apprentices.
Chief executive Mr Lewis said: "This is dear to the hearts of many members of staff in the organisation.
"The change will see all members of staff currently earning less than £7.85 per hour paid that amount as a minimum wage in the organisation. The job roles mainly affected by this change include health care assistants.
"This is definitely a step in the right direction for the trust and it raises the hope that the entire NHS can follow suit."
The living wage is an informal benchmark, not a legally enforceable minimum level of pay like the national minimum wage.
Employers choose to pay the living wage on a voluntary basis. The rate in London is set at £9.15 an hour.
The living wage campaign was launched in 2001 by parents in East London, who were frustrated that working two minimum wage jobs left no time for family life.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has also announced it will be paying staff the living wage from August 1.
Currently, 458 employees don't hit the threshold. Trust bosses estimate that the change will cost the trust around £88,000 a year.
The Sandwell trust's pledge follows its announced to spend up to £4 million during the next 12 months on projects proposed by medical staff to help improve patient care.
One of the approved projects is an investment of £100,000 in physiotherapy for workers as the common cause of staff sickness is muscle injury.
Six extra midwives and 11 health visitors will be recruited as part of a £500,000 investment boost the service offered to mothers and families.
Other schemes include investments in critical care, palliative care, pain management and children's epilepsy services.Money to fund the improvements has come from efficiency savings made in other areas.
