NHS fights pay day loan companies

Earlier in the week, we told how Glasgow city council has developed a series of initiatives, including a ban on all council computers, to stop people relying on the companies.

Now the NHSGGC, the west of Scotland’s largest employer with 38,000 staff, has announced it, too, is trying to stop people relying on pay day loan companies.

The move comes in a joint action with the Glasgow-based NHS Credit Union and will promote a sensible approach to lending and saving to both its staff and patients.

The credit union will offer support and advice to staff who may be experiencing financial difficulty.

Robert Kelly, general manager of the NHS Credit Union, said: “It is excellent to see such a large, public sector organisation take a lead in this field and I am very hopeful that the private sector will follow suit.

“As one of Scotland’s fastest-growing financial institutions we don’t just offer our services to NHS staff, but also their families as well.

“Through our long-standing partnership with NHSGGC we are very keen to attract young members and are determined to create a whole new culture of learning how to handle finances responsibly and ethically.”

Dr Noreen Shields, NHSGGC’s corporate inequalities officer, said: “We know that financial worries, debt and poverty are key determinants to ill health, both physically and mentally.

“These issues are affecting almost every aspect of people’s live, having a damaging impact on their work and home lives, family relationships and health.

“We are acutely aware that many thousands of our patients experience this kind of distress and in addition to the dedicated financial support we have in place for staff, we have also developed a range of measures to support patients who have money worries.”