Wirral councillor calls on government to reconsider nurses pay

Despite warnings of strike action and nurses quitting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, has defended the Government’s decision saying it “reflects the difficult financial circumstances the country is in”.

Cllr Phil Gilchrist, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Eastham ward, has now stepped into the row about nurses pay and plans to bring the issue to the council meeting this month.

Cllr Gilchrist said: “Wirral people have clapped to support NHS and care workers and have been proud to see thank you signs painted on the roads.

“This is about valuing a profession and a career. There are over thirty thousand vacancies across our NHS.

“The virus is still around; it has not gone away. Operations, treatments and all the other things our NHS does for us are still there to be done, part of a catch up that will last for years. To do that requires a long term plan that is properly funded.”

To get the issue on the agenda, the motion has to be submitted this week before the council meeting which is set to take place on 22 March.

Cllr Gilchrist said he is calling upon Matt Hancock to recognise that the Government’s submission is completely misjudged and offensive in the circumstances and by announcing the move now, he hopes that the support will add to the opinion that nurses cannot be treated like this.

NHS staff are to receive the 1% pay increase next year which has sparked controversy from undervalued nurses saying the increase is ‘insulting’.

Cllr Gilchrist says he believes that the interests of Wirral’s residents are best served by the award of a pay offer which encourages the recruitment and the retention of sufficient numbers of nurses, both locally and nationally, and properly recognises the commitment of all those who have served our community with such dedication throughout the difficulties over the past year.