‘We’re angry’: Hundreds of NHS staff march on Downing Street to demand pay rise

'We’ve been let down by our government... It feels like a kick in the teeth,' say nurses at protest

Hundreds of NHS workers marched from through London on Wednesday evening to demand an immediate pay rise, branding the prime minister a “coward”.

The protest moved from St Thomas’ Hospital towards Whitehall with banners and placards that said “Clapping won’t pay my bills” and “We helped you survive, now help us survive”.

Health workers are due a pay rise in April 2021 but unions have called for the government to show its appreciation for NHS staff by bringing it forward to this year.

But they were left disappointed and “let down” after wage increases for 900,000 public sector workers were announced last week, but no commitment to an early pay rise for all NHS staff was made.

The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, awarded an up to 3.1 per cent pay rise for public sector workers including doctors, teachers and police officers, prompting accusations of the chancellor having a “selective memory” for “rewarding some but ignoring hundreds of thousands of others”.

The march on Wednesday was organised by the Unite union in partnership with Keep Our NHS Public and Nurses United.

Rebecca Reid, a 27-year-old nurse from Prestwick in Scotland, told the PA news agency outside Downing Street she would invite Boris Johnson to join her on a shift if a second wave of coronavirus hits the UK, but she did not think he would accept, adding: “I think he’s a coward.

“We worked through an unprecedented pandemic. There are things I’m never going to forget about.

“I think the general feeling is anger. We’re angry. We’ve been let down by our Government,” she said.

“As a profession, we looked after the Prime Minister himself. He’s seen how brilliant we can be. And this is the reward we get. It feels like a slap. It feels like a kick in the teeth.

Throughout the coronavirus lockdown, the general public showed their support for the NHS by clapping on Thursday evenings. Mr Johnson also joined in on the initiative, but Ms Reid said he did not “deserve to be clapping”.

“[Having] someone clap in government who is saying one thing and doing another, it really upsets me… He’s got blood on his hands. We lost so many nurses,” she said, referring to issues surrounding personal protective equipment (PPE).

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting the entire NHS and social care workforce.

“We are incredibly grateful for all their hard work and dedication during the pandemic and we will continue to ensure all staff are rewarded fairly.”