A growing number of hospitals in the UK are having to set up foodbanks for NHS staff in need amid the rising cost of living crisis.
With inflation having now risen to the 40-year UK high of 9%, and costs continuing to increase across a broad range of areas including food, fuel, and energy bills, it has now been exclusively revealed by The Independent that six NHS trusts in England have has to set up food banks for staff struggling to afford the basics.
Others have chosen to launch food voucher schemes or emergency “hardship” loans, and some have increased the payments made to workers to help cover their travel costs.
A number other hospitals have also confirmed that they are considering making similar moves.
According to the Cavell Nurses’ Trust – an organisation supporting nurses, midwives, and health assistants in financial difficulties – there has been 140% rise in the number of people seeking help in the first four months of 2022, compared with the same period in 2021.
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Professor Alison Leary – chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London South Bank University – also told The Independent they have been several NHS organisations who are “very concerned” about the impact of the cost of living on their staff.
“Some are looking at starting food exchanges or food banks, and others are looking at other ways to help, for example with the costs of transport,” she added.
🔴Exclusive: Hospitals across the country have set up food banks and emergency “hardship” loans as health leaders warn staff are “struggling to feed their families” https://t.co/byR65hp9oh
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) also echoed the concerns of many health leaders, saying that rising costs have had it seeing staff “struggling to feed their family.”
Graham Revie – chair of the Royal College of Nursing’s Trade Union Committee – explained that many staff are being left out of pocked and also stressed that “thousands” of nurses are leaving the profession every year, citing pay among the key reasons for doing so.
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“This is an outrageous state of affairs, and a big admission that the NHS knows how its workers are struggling while the government denies them fair pay,” Mr Revie added.
Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT), Norfolk Community Health and Care, West Hertfordshire, Dartford and Gravesham have so far needed to introduce some of these services to help staff in need, with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals having already set up a staff food bank in 2020, and University Hospitals Birmingham also having had one for a number of years.
There has been 140% rise in the number of NHS staff seeking help in the first four months of 2022 / Credit: The Trussell Trust
Addressing the situation and the findings in The Independent’s report, a government spokesperson said: “We are incredibly grateful to all our NHS staff and we recognise the pressures caused by the rising cost of living.
“We are taking action worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help households with the costs of energy and to ensure people keep more of their money.
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“This includes by cutting fuel duty, raising the threshold at which people start to pay National Insurance and cutting taxes, for the lowest-paid workers on Universal Credit so they can keep more of what they earn.”
Featured Image – The Trussell Trust
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
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Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Emily Sergeant -
24th May 2022 
