NURSES have “unwavering” public support for further strike action in their continuing dispute with the government over pay, staffing and working conditions, a survey revealed today.
The YouGov poll revealed that the public would support nurses withdrawing their labour next year over staffing levels (73 per cent), pay (66 per cent) and threats to patient safety caused by nurse shortages (85 per cent).
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which commissioned the poll, said it remained in dispute over NHS nurses’ pay in England after the government imposed a pay settlement.
It warned that nurses could strike again in the run-up to next year’s general election.
RCN chief nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “When politicians start canvassing voters and knocking on doors, nursing staff could again be standing on picket lines, fighting for fair pay and safe staffing levels.
Medical consultant members of the British Medical Association (BMA) on the picket line outside University College London (UCL) hospital as consultants took industrial action for the first time in more than a decade. Picture date: Thursday July 20, 2023.
NURSES were left infuriated today after the government made an improved pay offer for hospital consultants in England.
The Department of Health and Social Care said that it had reached an agreement with the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) after a month of talks and more than six months of strikes.
Union members will now vote on the deal which offers the majority of consultants an additional uplift of up to 12.8 per cent from next January — more than double the minimum of 6 per cent in 2023/24 as a result of the previously implemented pay award — although it won’t be paid until April.
BMA consultants committee chair Dr Vishal Sharma said: “It is a huge shame that it has needed consultants to take industrial action to get the government to this point when we called for talks many months ago.”
UK’s leading doctors’ union has reiterated concerns around what it has called a ‘deeply worrying’ decision to award a new NHS contract to the US spy tech firm Palantir.
Yesterday it was announced that Palantir won the £330 million contract to run NHS England’s new data platform, amid fears from MPs and privacy groups over the safety of patient data.
People will not have the option to opt out of sharing their health data under the Federated Data Platform, which will be run by Palantir, a US multinational knowingly for working with intelligence and military organisations.
One of the billionaire co-founders of Palantir has been reported expressing criticism towards the NHS, claiming that it ‘makes people sick’. While Isaac Levido, a consultant lobbyist for Palantir, is also Rishi Sunak’s election guru.
Dr David Wrigley, digital lead of the BMA GP Committee, spoke on the BBC Radio 4 Today Show this morning and warned trust in the doctor-patient relationship could be eroded if patient data is put at risk.
He also cited the “astronomical” amounts of money being spent on software and hardware, at a time when the NHS is in “desperate need for cash”, and as trusts are being told there is no funding.
Image of the Green Party’s Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has outlined a 10-point plan of distinctive tax and spend policies aimed at delivering a fairer, greener country. She will dismiss the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, saying it will be “another failed opportunity to end the cost-of-living crisis, tackle the climate crisis and restore crumbling public services on which we all rely.”
Denyer said:
“Our 10-point plan identifies around £30 billion of additional funds that would be available from simply rebalancing the tax system so that the super-rich pay their fair share and both people and planet benefit.”
“The extra revenue raised would enable the government to pay NHS staff an inflation-matching pay award, increase access to NHS dentists, increase Universal Credit, abolish the two-child benefit cap, improve bus services and help small businesses take advantage of the opportunities offered by greening the economy.
“Instead, the chancellor’s Autumn Statement will be another failed opportunity to end the cost-of-living crisis, tackle the climate crisis or restore crumbling public services. It’s clear that as the Tories continue to languish in the polls, Jeremy Hunt has more interest in electoral gimmickry that he has in creating a fairer and greener country.”
The Green Party’s 10-point plan would:
Restore the public health budget by increasing spending by £1.4 billion
Immediately increase NHS spending by £8 billion, to ensure NHS staff can be paid an inflation matching pay award
Meet the Government’s current plan to increase access to NHS dentists by increasing spending 50 per cent – £1.5 billion – of the total NHS dentistry budget
End the rise in homelessness caused by the cap on Local Housing Allowances at a cost of £700 million
Increase Universal Credit by £40 per week at a cost of £9bn
Abolish the two-child benefit cap to reduce poverty for some of the most vulnerable children in the country by increasing the welfare budget by £1.3 billion
Provide the necessary powers and funding to rural local authorities to take back control of bus services so they can increase routes and service frequencies at a cost of £3bn
Turn ISAs green by linking their tax exemptions to investments in green bonds
Invest an additional £3billion in Green Transition Grants for small businesses to help them prepare for and take advantage of the opportunities offered by greening the economy
Rebalance the tax system to raise an extra £30 billion through changes to Capital Gains Tax, National Insurance and the abolition of “non dom status” which would pay for the proposed measures
Championing the Green’s alternative Autumn Statement, Carla Denyer said:
“These fairer, greener alternatives give just a flavour of what could be done if we had a Government willing to tackle the long-term crises we face. They would start to remove the fundamental injustice that means that wealthier people who own more assets often see a lower effective tax rate than less well-off people.
“Everyone deserves easy access to a dentist, improved public health, properly paid and supported doctors and nurses working with decent facilities, reduced poverty and homelessness, and accessible public transport.
“There is enough money in the economy to make our country fairer and greener. What is lacking is the political will to change priorities. And Starmer’s official opposition seems no more ready to offer this than the Government is. That is why we so desperately need more Greens in Parliament to make the case for the common-sense changes that can deliver a fairer greener country.”
Responding to Rishi Sunak’s extensive cabinet reshuffle today, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said:
“This reshuffle looks desperate and is a sign that Rishi Sunak has run out of talent. David Cameron started the programme of cuts to our public services which has now brought the NHS to near breaking point. Since his disastrous exit he has cashed in on dodgy lobbying for global oligarchs. And on the odd occasion where Cameron did take a principled stand – such as on maintaining the international aid budget – the government has since reneged.
“As to the departure of Therese Coffey as Environment Secretary, nature can at least temporarily breathe a sigh of relief as we await to see who replaces her. She put in place a subsidy system which is not working for farmers or the environment, and she has failed to tackle the blight of sewage in our rivers – a situation she herself described as ‘a scandal’ when I challenged her on it at a public meeting in Suffolk last month.
“We need a fresh start on the environment, with real action to stop the water companies profiting from failure and a proper system of nature-friendly farming payments which are easy for farmers to access.
“This chaotic and unprincipled government has reached the end of the road. It is doing great harm to the country. We need a general election now.”
