Months of strikes by healthcare workers could be brought to an end if NHS workers in England agree to back a pay offer recommended by unions.
The offer – backed by the Royal College of Nursing, the GMB and Unison – includes a one-off lump sum for 2022-23 that rises in value up the NHS pay bands as well as a permanent five per cent rise on all pay points for 2023-24. The breakthrough on Thursday came following days of talks between health unions and the Government, raising hopes that the long-running dispute could be brought to an end.
But questions were quickly raised about how the Treasury and the Department of Health would fund the new offer. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted that frontline services will “absolutely not” be affected by any final pay deal while Health Secretary Steve Barclay said funding for the agreement would not come at the expense of patients.
