Rash of demands over NHS pay and career path spreads

NHS patients face months of winter strikes as nurses and GPs are the latest to threaten walkouts if their pay demands are not met.

- REBECCA THOMAS HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned its members feel “deeply undervalued”, and will be balloted on industrial action after 91 per cent of its members voted to reject the government's pay offer of 3.6 per cent.

The union wants nursing salaries to be “raised at the bottom” and is calling for clearer career progression to prevent a staffing “crisis”. GPs have also threatened to strike, warning minister Stephen Kinnock that the government must act on its list of demands to “avoid a future dispute”.

The fresh threats come after a five-day walkout by resident doctors ended on Wednesday, with thousands of staff taking action over the government’s refusal to meet their demands for a 29 per cent pay rise.

GPs, who are represented by the British Medical Association (BMA), will hold a meeting in September to decide whether to ballot for strike action over concerns about their part in the NHS’s much-heralded 10-year plan.

They want government assurances that GP practices will lead new “neighbourhood” hubs - which will bring tests, post-op care, nursing and mental health teams closer to people’s homes - and are demanding a timeline for investment in and the renewal of GP contracts.