NHS Pay Cap ‘Must be Lifted’

Monday, 8th May 2017

NHS Providers claim the pay cap, which limits pay rises to 1% a year to 2019, is causing severe recruitment and retention problems in England and NHS bosses say it must be lifted because it is putting patient safety at risk.

The body, which represents NHS trusts in England, wants the next government to look at the issue immediately.

Labour says it would look to increase pay so that it better reflects the cost of living, but has not said by how much. The Lib Dems announced recently that they would increase income tax by a penny-in-the-pound to boost investment in the NHS. The Tories have not yet set out any pay plans.

Over the weekend the Public Accounts Committee warned that the NHS in England was 50,000 people short of the front-line staff it needed - which is about 6% of the workforce.

NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said his members were now worried the situation was so bad that services were at risk.

"Growing problems of recruitment and retention are making it harder for trusts to ensure patient safety," he said. "Unsustainable staffing gaps are quickly opening up."

He said the seven years of pay restraint, combined with stressful working conditions, had taken a toll on the workforce.

"Pay is becoming uncompetitive," added Mr Hopson. "Significant numbers of trusts say lower paid staff are leaving to stack shelves in supermarkets rather than carry on working in the NHS."

He added that uncertainty surrounding Brexit meant that "vital recruitment from EU countries is dropping rapidly", saying: "Pay restraint must end."

While NHS Providers represents only English hospital, ambulance and mental health trusts, any move on the pay cap would have implications elsewhere as pay recommendations are made on a UK-wide basis.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is polling its members on whether they should strike over the pay cap. It says a combination of pay freezes and caps on pay rises since 2010 have, in effect, led to a 14% pay cut due to the rising cost of living.

RCN general secretary Janet Davies said: "The government cannot ignore this warning from hospital bosses - poor pay for NHS staff damages patient care.

"If it now pays more to stack supermarket shelves than work on the wards, ministers should hang their heads in shame."

A Conservative party spokesman said: "The truth is that in order to continue to invest in the NHS, grow staff numbers and pay and improve patient care, we need to secure the economic progress we've made and get a good Brexit deal. That is only on offer at this election with the strong and stable leadership of Theresa May."

Every 1% increase in pay would cost about £500m.

For more details on this, and related stories, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39838752