NHS nurses to protest parliament over public sector pay cap

Seven in 10 voters think NHS has too few nurses to offer safe patient care, survey finds

Nurses protest over low pay (Getty)

Thousands of nurses are set to protest against the public sector pay cap as a new poll revealed fears that staff shortages were harming patient care.

The YouGov survey found that seven in 10 voters think the NHS has too few nurses to offer safe care while 68 per cent believe that stretched staff are underpaid.

It also said that 57 per cent of respondents would pay more tax to make the NHS safer.

Nursing leaders said poor pay and staff shortages meant experienced staff were “leaving in droves” and warned that strike action could be on the table if the Government fails to scrap the long-standing 1 per cent cap for teachers, nurses and civil servants.

It comes as Downing Street hinted that public sector workers could be in line for a pay rise, as the Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said she “recognised the sacrifice” staff had made since the freeze was brought in under the coalition government.

However ministers did not discuss the matter at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

More than 2,000 nurses are expected to protest outside Parliament on Wednesday after the first Prime Minister’s Questions of the parliamentary session.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) General Secretary Janet Davies said: “The public can see the shortage of nurses for themselves. Ministers are significantly out of touch with public opinion. They should heed this warning, scrap the pay cap and help to recruit thousands more nurses for a safer NHS.

“Experienced nursing staff are leaving in droves – not because they don’t like the job, but because they can’t afford to stay, while the next generation do not see their future in an undervalued profession.

“If the Government fails to announce a change of direction in the Budget, then industrial action by nursing staff immediately goes on the table.”

Labour accused the Government of creating a “workforce crisis”, which led to misery for patients and staff.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “The Tory Government has taken NHS staff for granted for years and the result is staffing shortages across the health service and ever longer waits for patients.

“72 per cent of the public now think that there are too few nurses to provide safe care to patients. This is totally unsustainable.

"The Government’s public sector pay cap has created a workforce crisis in the NHS which is driving trust deficits and causing misery for patients.”

Chancellor Philip Hammond is facing pressure to allow the Treasury more flexibility when it sets out the remit for public sector pay review bodies in the coming weeks.

Reports suggest Mr Hammond could outline plans to remove the cap in his autumn budget, while ministers are said to favour a plan to offer the first rises to the lowest-paid workers and professions which struggle to retain staff such as nurses and senior civil servants.