Pay deal needed to cut waiting lists, warn nurses

Sunak demands ‘bold action’ from health leaders to tackle crisis

Rishi Sunak has called for “bold and radical” action to fix the NHS crisis as the leader of Britain’s nursing union warned that he cannot meet his waiting list pledge without addressing pay. The PM told health and social care leaders during an emergency summit in Downing Street yesterday that it was a “collective responsibility” to free up hospital beds and slash waiting times for ambulances. But RCN leader Pat Cullen said his pledge would fail unless he gives her members a pay rise and said the upcoming nurses’ walkout would be the biggest strike of its kind in the world.