The NHS deserves more than a kick in the teeth
AFTER NHS workers saved Boris Johnson’s life in April he stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street to applaud them. As the pandemic threatened to overwhelm the Health Service, they risked their own safety for the good of us all and saw hundreds of their colleagues die.
Of course, in normal times and particularly on intensive care wards, NHS workers must come to terms with the fact that some patients will not make it through despite all their efforts. But with this pandemic, the trauma has been on a different level.
For months and months on end, they knew that all they could do for so many in their care was to make them as comfortable as possible because they could not save them. That must have been soul-destroying and will surely have a long-term impact on their mental wellbeing.
On the Covid wards they worked long shifts in claustrophobic and hot protective suits. Even worse, for much of the time workers in the NHS were not provided with adequate protective equipment and so faced far higher risks than was necessary.
Despite all this they have kept going, never letting their professional standards slip.
Many are now on their knees. Will they get the break they deserve when the pandemic recedes? Not a chance – they will be expected to deal with the backlog of operations and treatment that could not be undertaken over the last 12 months – and on top of that, Long Covid could significantly add to the strain.
They have gone the extra mile for us all so how does the Government reward them?
The NHS Pay Review body looks at the
pay of almost 1.5 million people, including nurses, midwives and health assistants, working for the NHS across the UK but not doctors, dentists and some senior staff, who have their own pay bodies or agreements. The Department of Health and Social Care’s recent submission to the Pay Review body is for a pitiful one per cent increase – £3.50 a week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims it is all we can afford.
He said: “I’m massively grateful to all NHS staff and indeed to social care workers who have been heroic throughout the pandemic…what we have done is try to give them as much as we can at the present time.”
Nadine Dorries, Minister of State for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety, said it ‘would be wrong to say a single person in the government does not appreciate the effort’ of NHS staff.
“Of course, we recognise the sacrifice and the commitment and the vocation of nurses and all health workers over the past year,” she added. “We’ve all been touched by, or personally experienced, help by NHS workers.
But words are not enough and opposition is mounting. The British Medical Association, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing and Unison wrote a joint letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak to express their dismay at the one per cent offer.
The Royal College of Nursing, who have never gone on strike in their history, are now considering industrial action.
An unnamed Tory MP said: “The general feeling amongst colleagues I have spoken to is that this is a bad decision – bad politics – and one that will require a U-turn.”
According to a poll by Opinium, 72 per cent support a better pay increase for the NHS workers.
The pay review body is due to recommend a rise to ministers in May. The Government can accept its advice or ignore it.
I suspect that the Government has set their initial submission so low to allow them to come back with a little more – probably the two per cent the NHS workers were promised before the pandemic. They would then claim to have responded to the public pressure.
If so, they are playing cynical political games. Only a significant pay rise would show the NHS workforce that the Government values their huge contribution and sacrifice during the crisis.
Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, branded the sum “deeply disappointing”.
She said: “We need to attract more workers into the NHS and keep the staff we already have.
“This pay offer could have the opposite effect and risks sowing the seeds of discontent.”
It is therefore not only morally right that NHS staff are properly rewarded after all they have been through, it is also essential for the future of the NHS.
NHS workers deserve more than a clap and a kick in the teeth.