Changing nurses' pay.

Several key elements in the government's NHS reforms are making an impact on nurses' pay. In particular, the creation of the internal market, in which the roles of purchasers and providers of health services are separated and are governed by the contracting process, gives providers an incentive to minimise the costs of their activities. With the nursing paybill accounting for roughly a third of the running costs of units, it is inevitable that tighter control of the wage bill directly through pay levels or indirectly through re-profiling will be seen as one way of gaining 'competitive' advantage.