Rishi Sunak has been challenged over falling real-terms nurses’ pay on a hospital visit, ahead of threatened strike action later this year.
A patient was heard telling the new prime minister he must “try harder” – after nurses were handed a 3 per cent pay rise, way short of the 10.1 per cent inflation rate.
“You need to pay them,” the patient said. When Mr Sunak said his government was trying,” she told him: “You are not trying, you need to try harder.”
But Mr Sunak ignored the patient, telling broadcasters: “It is brilliant to be here at Croydon Hospital, to see the great work of the doctors and nurses here.”
The challenge came as he ripped up a widely-ridiculed Tory leadership campaign plan to fine patients who miss GP and hospital appointments.
“We have listened to GPs and health leaders, and have acknowledged that now is not the right time to take this policy forward,” a No 10 spokeswoman said.
Unions, including the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unison, are urging their members to vote for strike action over the government’s below-inflation pay awards for 2022-23.
In England and Wales, most nurses were given a £1,400 pay rise, equivalent to 3 per cent and in line with the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body, in the summer.
In July, as he fought Liz Truss for the Conservative leadership, Mr Sunak argued patients failing to turn up and “taking those slots away from people who need” them should be punished.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) said the idea would “make matters worse” and threaten the principle of free NHS care at the point of need.
At the hospital, Mr Sunak also hinted at the huge spending cuts and tax hikes to come, as he argued the “depressing” economic picture justified him skipping the Cop27 climate summit.
The prime minister and his chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, have met to thrash out a rumoured £50bn package of fiscal tightening, including £10bn of headroom for the predicted recession to come.
Mr Hunt has also met George Osborne, the architect of the austerity policy that followed the 2008 financial crash – ahead of what is widely seen as austerity 2.0, in the “budget” now due on 17 November.
“What I want everyone to know is that we need to do these things so that we can get our borrowing and debt back on a sustainable path,” Mr Sunak said.
“That’s important because it means that we can get a grip of inflation. If we do that, it means we can limit as best as possible the increase in interest rates, which is important.
“But, as we do that, I want people to be reassured, we will always do it with fairness at the heart, we will protect the most vulnerable and ensure that we can continue to grow the economy in the long run.”
