Nurses’ pay

SIR – I have lived and worked on three continents over many years. Most – if not all – of the people I met agreed, when the topic came up, that nurses, teachers and police were underpaid (Letters, November 11).

On the other hand, politicians regularly give themselves increases in pay and perks. I wonder what the pay of British nurses would be today if, using 2000 as a base, their increases had been tied to those – including the value of perks – that MPS have received over this period.

Better salaries would also make it easier to recruit good nurses. In general, you get what you pay for. Politicians are probably the exception that proves the rule.

Peter Flack

Henley-on-thames, Oxfordshire

SIR – The salary of Amanda Pritchard, head of NHS England, is reportedly just under £260,000 per annum.

Average pay for a nurse is about £34,000, so that equates to seven nurses for the price of the top manager, with some money to spare.

Consider, moreover, the hundreds of lower managers on between £100,000 and £150,000, and the sums are startling. Something is surely wrong. Jennie Naylor

East Preston, West Sussex