An NHS pay rise for workers will cost a community healthcare hub £4.1million, it has been revealed.

More than 1,500 people providing vital care for patients around part of the county were set to miss out on an increase in wages and bonus worth more than £1,200.

Last month, staff at Medway Community Healthcare (MCH) – which helps people in Rochester, Hoo, Rainham and Lordswood – were left angered and upset after being told they didn’t qualify for the payments.

Despite being on the same Agenda for Change contracts as NHS workers, and being classed as under the umbrella of the health service, they were set to miss out as it was classed as a “non-statutory NHS organisation”.

MCH staff attend to around 10,000 patients a month in multiple locations across the Towns.

Samantha Pearce, phlebotomy clinical lead at the organisation, was one of many to call for herself and her team to get the bonus.

Previously, the 47-year-old said: “It’s a kick in the teeth.”

“We worked continuously and tirelessly through the pandemic, putting ourselves and our families at risk.”

However, last week healthcare bosses announced staff would be receiving a pay rise and it would come out of its own pocket.

The decision could put future services at risk, with MCH still searching for some sort of funding to help foot the multi-million pound bill.

Bank staff and zero-hour contract workers, including student nurses, are set to get a pay rise, but miss out on the consildated payment.

Sharlie Sleney one of those staff and has been at MCH for three years.

She said: “I work four to five days a week, 32-40 hours a week. I work bank holidays, weekends, public holidays and have worked the last three Christmas days.

“I too, deal with the same pressure, burnout and deflation as every body else. I too, do the exact same job as every body else and often come home feeling stressed, exhausted and burnt out.

“As you can imagine, we put in the exact same amount of effort and work into the NHS as contracted staff and many of us have made sacrifices to suit the needs of our job.

“We have worked tirelessly throughout covid, and before a vaccination was on offer, on the front line just like everybody else. Without bank or zero hour staff, the NHS would be worse off.”

Managine director Martin Riley said: “The National Agenda for Change pay rules state that these non-consolidated payments cover staff directly employed by NHS organisations e.g. staff on permanent and fixed term contracts.

“The issue we have at the moment is that we have not received funding for any staff as we are a community interest company (CIC).”

As part of the deal to pay NHS workers more money, those eligible will also receive a one-off payment for last year and a so-called NHS backlog bonus for this year, the latter worth between £1,250 and £1,600.

It comes after protracted pay disputes, with some NHS staff still threatening strike action.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay announced on May 2 that he was implementing the offer, after most health unions in England accepted the Government’s deal.

On Thursday Mr Barclay commented: “More than one million of our hard-working NHS staff will begin to receive more money in their pay packet from today, including a backlog bonus for all their efforts during the pandemic.

“We’re giving nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and other eligible staff a fair pay rise, which will see for example, band six staff getting an extra £5,000 over two years.

“We hugely value the work of NHS staff and the vital role they’re playing to cut waiting lists, which is one of the government’s five priorities, and recognises the work they put in day in and day out.”

The additional salaries and one-off payments will start to be paid from Thursday, with individual employers in the NHS paying staff on different days.