Rishi Sunak told to increase nurses’ pay while on hospital visit

’You are not trying, you need to try harder,’ patient tells prime minister – ahead of threatened strike

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.”