Health Story

22 November 2008 19:40 BST

NHS workers get "disappointing" pay rise

Nurses are to get a 2.5 per cent pay rise as part of a package of NHS salary increases, but the figure has been slammed as "disappointing" by a leading union.

Health secretary Patricia Hewitt today revealed that nurses and other healthcare professionals will receive a 2.5 per cent pay rise, junior doctors will see a 2.2 per cent uplift and there will be rises of 2.4 per cent and three per cent for salaried and general dentists respectively.

But consultants will only receive a rise of one per cent until November, when their pay will go up by a further 1.2 per cent.

Ms Hewitt described the deal, which is broadly in line with recommendations from the NHS pay review body (PRB), as "fair and affordable" but accepted that senior doctors would be left "disappointed".

But the Unison union, which represents most healthcare workers in Britain, has hit out at the package, as well as the length of time the government has taken to come to a decision.

"At last the long wait is over but NHS nurses and other health professionals will be disappointed with a 2.5 per cent increase," Mike Jackson, senior national health officer for Unison, said.

"The NHS cannot afford to lose well qualified and experienced workers, but there is a very real risk they might be tempted by the higher pay rates on offer in the private sector and in countries like the US."

Mr Jackson did however welcome the government's decision to adhere to the PRB recommendations and was pleased that a mooted rise of just two per cent had been avoided.

The pay rises come at a time when the government is under pressure to help the NHS deal with one its most difficult financial periods, as it heads towards a record overspend and a number of NHS Trusts are cutting jobs.

"The NHS is operating in a challenging financial environment and running a small deficit - less than one per cent of its total budget," Ms Hewitt admitted.

"We are determined to ensure that we return the NHS as a whole to financial balance over the next 12 months."

On the decision to stagger the pay rises for consultants, Ms Hewitt highlighted the fact that their salaries have risen by 11.5 per cent in two years and that they would still be paid the PRB recommended wage (£70,823) from November 2006.

"Taken together, these decisions are both fair and affordable and they send a clear signal to the NHS that we are serious about the need to restore financial balance while we continue to improve patient care," she concluded.