Rishi Sunak says nurses' pay offer appropriate and fair

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the wage connection to nurses is due and fair, contempt unit from wellness leaders and immoderate erstwhile Conservative ministers to rethink.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) went connected onslaught connected Thursday and is staging a 2nd walkout connected Tuesday.

And it has warned that much strikes could travel successful the caller year.

Tens of thousands of nurses took enactment crossed England, Wales and Northern Ireland, affecting galore appointments.

At slightest 19,000 patients had their surgeries and appointments postponed yesterday due to the fact that of striking nurses.

In England alone, 9,999 unit were absent from enactment owed to the strike.

The authorities says it has followed the proposal of the autarkic NHS Pay Review Body, which said successful July NHS unit should person the £1,400 increase, with somewhat much for the astir experienced nurses.

But national sources person told the BBC that if determination is nary determination to reopen wage talks aft adjacent week's action, past caller onslaught dates volition beryllium announced earlier Christmas, with a bid of walkouts apt successful January.

Pat Cullen, the General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "If the premier curate continues to instrumentality the presumption that helium is holding present on with his Secretary of State past it volition beryllium for him and connected his shoulders that further enactment possibly volition person to instrumentality spot - but this is for him to determine now".

Saffron Cordery, the interim main enforcement of NHS Providers, which represents trusts successful England, said the archetypal nurses' onslaught had a "significant impact" connected patients.

"It was peculiarly pressured crossed a fig of exigency departments. We cognize that determination was dilatory transportation of patients retired of those departments...but determination was a batch of enactment for unit whether oregon not they were striking," she told BBC News.

The level of disruption could besides increase, with nurses striking crossed much NHS trusts successful England and for longer periods of clip - possibly implicit 2 consecutive days. Industrial enactment is besides taking spot successful Wales and Northern Ireland.

Former Conservative Party president Sir Jake Berry and ex-health curate Dan Poulter privation the authorities to amended its offer.

Sir Jake told Times Radio: "It is clip for pragmatism and talking betwixt the authorities and the unions. I don't spot wherefore that is controversial.

"There is nary do-nothing enactment but continued strikes. And I conscionable deliberation the cancellation of astir apt virtually hundreds of thousands of non-urgent appointments yesterday has immense repercussions for an already-overstretched wellness service."

Mr Sunak said the authorities remained unfastened to talks to negociate wage with nurses, but that a request for a 19% wage emergence by the RCN is unaffordable.

Nurses received an other 3% past twelvemonth aft the pandemic, and different emergence recommended by a wage reappraisal body.

Speaking portion connected a sojourn to Belfast, Mr Sunak told BBC News NI: "The wellness caput has ever been wide that his doorway is ever unfastened for talks - we privation to beryllium reasonable, we privation to beryllium constructive.

"We've got tremendous gratitude for each nationalist assemblage workers for the occupation they do, and I cognize things are hard close now.

"That's wherefore the authorities is providing tons of enactment for people, peculiarly with vigor bills."

The NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, has urged ministers to enactment to debar strikes successful the caller year, which it said could beryllium "more severe" and co-ordinated with different wellness unions.

Former Conservative wellness curate Steve Brine told the BBC's World At One programme connected Thursday: "Everyone needs to chill it, and I deliberation sending it backmost to the wage reappraisal assemblage to person a look would beryllium a sensible answer."

In England and Wales, astir NHS unit person already received a wage emergence of astir £1,400 this twelvemonth - worthy astir 4% connected mean for nurses.

The governmental concern successful Northern Ireland meant determination was a hold successful processing the summation - but nurses should person backdated payments earlier the extremity of the fiscal year.

The RCN wants a larger rise, of 5% supra the RPI ostentation rate, which presently stands astatine 14%, saying its members person received years of below-inflation wage increases.

The RCN has criticised the NHS Pay Review Body, who recommended the £1,400 rise, for not being autarkic enough. It is made up chiefly of economists and quality resources professionals.

Welsh ministers said they were incapable to participate wage talks without other backing from the UK government.