Health Secretary Therese Coffey on Tuesday doubled down on her position on the nursing strikes, insisting she felt the Government “had acted” to help NHS staff struggling with the cost of living crisis.
Speaking to the Standard, Ms Coffey said ministers had “intervened in a number of ways” to help NHS staff and would not be drawn into a discussion over increasing nurses pay.
It comes just days after the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) balloted it’s 300,000 members over industrial action, claiming the Government’s offer of a £1,400 pay rise was insufficient for nurses coping with a huge surge in energy bills and rent hikes. The RCN has demanded a pay rise of 5 per cent above inflation, which is currently at 9.9 per cent.
“The Government has intervened in a number of different ways to help with the cost of living. There was already a package focused on helping people on low incomes and we’ve enhanced with the energy price guarantee,” Ms Coffey said.
“I feel we have acted, and NHS staff have already been offered an annual pay rise of £1,400. We have accepted the recommendation of the pay review body.”
Asked about nurses leaving to go abroad, Ms Coffey said: “It is their choice of course if they want to do that, but then we also have an open route for people to come into this country who are professional staff.”
Last month, the Standard reported the number of nurses leaving the NHS in London had risen by 24 per cent in a year. A study published recently by NHS Providers also found that two thirds (68 per cent) of trusts were reporting a “significant or severe impact” from staff leaving for better paid jobs in retail and hospitality.
Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, said a number of trusts were providing food banks for staff in lower pay bands struggling with the cost of living crisis.
Ms Coffey said she was “conscious of the amount of vacancies in the NHS” but that she was “confident” the Government could increase the number of people working in the health service.
The RCN ballot closes on November 2.
Ms Coffey was speaking as she opened a new community diagnostics centre in Wood Green which will provide locals with access to MRI scans and X-Rays.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced that 260,000 diagnostic tests had been carried out in London since July 2021. Ms Coffey said the CDCs would help deal with Covid-19 backlogs by speeding up access to tests.
“I think it’s a modern approach prompted by the growth of Covid and aimed at getting this backlog down,” she said. “But it’s also an opportunity to have a different way of doing diagnostics so that you’re not competing with emergency situations. Hopefully we’ll get more doctors referring their patients here.”
