NHS pay offers welcome but trusts wait for clearer plan for new buildings

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves today announced:

• government will accept in full pay review body advice on NHS staff salaries
• a pay offer to junior doctors
• a complete review of the New Hospital Programme (NHP)

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive, NHS Providers, said:

“If junior doctors vote to accept the government’s offer, resolving the long-running dispute and ending strikes, it will be great news for patients who’ve suffered months of disruption to operations, scans and appointments.

“An above-inflation pay award for most NHS workers is welcome too and will help to tackle severe staff shortages and to recruit and keep the people we need. We are yet to see the detail of this announcement, though, and the government must work to ensure that the cost of meeting any above-inflation pay awards is not passed on to frontline services.

“Trusts will be deeply concerned about further NHP delays. These projects can transform services for people after years of under-investment in the fabric of the NHS. Too many NHS buildings and facilities are falling to bits.

“Keeping patients safe is a daily struggle due to uncertainty about the NHP which promised 40 new hospitals in England by 2030 – a scheme which the government’s own spending watchdog said had not achieved good value for money. More than 100 trusts who applied to join the NHP were disappointed not to be awarded any funding at all.

“Soaring costs, on-hold building projects and the growing bill for patching up crumbling sites and facilities has seen some trusts with already stretched budgets having to spend more than £1million a month while delays put long-anticipated new buildings further beyond reach.

“The government must keep its manifesto pledge to deliver the NHP and it’s vital that the review happens in a timely way so that trusts get the clarity and certainty they desperately need.”