Thank you for contacting me about NHS pay.
The passion, commitment, and specialist knowledge of our NHS staff is part of what makes our NHS so special. Front line NHS workers played a vital and unique role throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. I thank all those Islanders who worked tirelessly during the pandemic. The recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body and the Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration were accepted last year, meaning NHS staff received a three per cent pay rise when pay was frozen in the wider public sector.
This year, NHS workers will receive a pay rise. The level of the uplift will once again be determined by the recommendations of the independent Pay Review bodies. They will consider a range of factors including cost of living, inflation, recruitment, retention and value for the taxpayer. No decisions will be made until recommendations have been received later in the year. The uplift should be proportionate to pay rises in the wider economy, and take the wider economic context into account including inflation. It also needs to balance rewarding hard-working workers with ensuring that front line services can still be delivered while tackling the Covid-19 backlogs and growing the NHS workforce.
I share the Government’s commitment to making the NHS the best place to work for all staff and support the commitment to building a bigger, better trained NHS workforce. Hundreds of millions of pounds of additional funding will be provided over the next four years underpinning the training of undergraduate intakes of medical students and nurses and supporting new midwives and allied health professionals.
I recognise the invaluable work that nursing staff on the Island and across the country have done during the pandemic. NHS staff have worked tirelessly and I recognise the sacrifice they have all made to keep services going.
I thank all those involved for their continued dedication to their roles.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.