NHS can’t have it all

nHS staff voting to strike say they are highlighting patient safety due to understaffing, as well as wanting a fair pay rise. But how many people in the real world are likely to receive anything above 5 per cent, let alone double figures?

The wage bill for the nHS, which covers the equivalent of 1.2 million fulltime posts, is about £57 billion a year. The proposed 17 per cent pay rise would add nearly £10 billion to that.

There is only so much tax money to go round and, while no one begrudges nHS staff a rise, I suspect most people would like to see the extra few billion used to hire extra staff, to help ensure adequate patient care and bring waiting times down.

If staff numbers are really a reason for striking, why ask for an unrealistic pay rise that would probably leave the nHS understaffed for years?

GARRY CARR, Yelland, Devon.