BAPIO and BINA stand firm with trade union colleagues at the BMA, RCN and UNISON in seeking ways of improving a pay deal that will be fair, just, and rewarding for all doctors, nurses and pharmacists in the NHS…reports Asian Lite News
The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) has strongly condemns the pay settlement for NHS staff announced by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care yesterday.
Doctors and dentists in the UK have been subjected to an erosion of their pay by more than 30% since 2008-09, and nurses have also seen a real-term pay cut of 5% in the last decade.
Many NHS staff have struggled to keep up been awarded a paltry sum for the sterling efforts made during a challenging time for the NHS, sometimes at a personal cost to them. The derisory 4% pay raise for nurses and 4.5% for eligible doctors and dentists this year shows the contempt with which the government holds NHS staff, and the low priority it gives to sustaining the NHS which it is slowly dismantling in its bid to increase privatisation.
An average of £27 per week increase for 70% of nurses will further plunge us into a workforce crisis. Public sector pay over the last year has been 1.5% against a much more attractive offer of 8.1% in the private sector, which will further increase the exodus of doctors, dentists, and nurses from the NHS.
It is also deplorable that the doctors and dentists in training, many SAS doctors and Locally Employed Doctors (LED) are not included in this review. While the former two groups were side-lined because of the multi-year deal that was agreed upon, this must be reconsidered as the level of inflation and cost of living are now unprecedented. It is regrettable that neither the pay review body nor the government acknowledges the contributions of LED doctors who are probably the most exploited group of doctors in this country.
BAPIO and BINA stand firm with trade union colleagues at the BMA, RCN and UNISON in seeking ways of improving a pay deal that will be fair, just, and rewarding for all doctors, nurses and pharmacists in the NHS.
Dr Satheesh Mathew, Vice President, commented: “This appalling so-called pay rise adds insult to injury for all our NHS doctors and dentists who have worked tirelessly to keep the NHS afloat over the last decade and especially during a pandemic which has caused them stress, burnout, and sometimes personal grief. The government must act now, otherwise, the consequences to the NHS and our patients are dire”.
Dr. JS Bamrah, the Chairman, states that: “This pay settlement will reverberate for a long time in the NHS because the NHS has only survived through the goodwill of our dedicated doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other staff. On top of the uprising of the staff in other sectors, we are in for a summer of discontent, and I fear that this winter is likely to see our NHS plunge into a real crisis”.
Marimouttou Coumarassamy, Chair of the British Indian Nurses Association, reports that his members are dismayed. “The government needs to show it cares for our nurses, many of whom are struggling at a time of rising costs and inflation. Unless we pay our hard-working nurses a fair salary we will see a crisis in recruitment and retention, at a time when we need them most. I would urge it to act now”.
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