Responding to news that a pay deal has been reached in principle
between the government and unions representing Agenda for Change
staff, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Sir Hartley said:
“This is hugely positive development after months of strike
action, which has seen NHS staff out on picket lines and
widespread disruption to patient care with tens of thousands of
appointments postponed.
“But we must remember that this isn’t a done deal yet. Unions
will need to put this deal to their members who will have the
final say on whether or not it is accepted.
“We are very encouraged by the guarantee from the government that
there will be no impact on frontline services or the quality of
care that patients receive as a result of this offer. We take
this to mean that the deal is fully funded rather than relying on
raids on NHS budgets, taking money away from key services. This
is crucial to the success of the deal.
“It is also good to see that as a result of this deal all staff
will be lifted above the real living wage, something we have long
called for.
“We now need to see today’s progress matched by urgent movement
on talks between the government and unions representing junior
doctors. As trust leaders assess the full extent of the
disruption caused by this week’s 72-hour walkout, their message
is loud and clear: redouble your efforts to find a way through.
No more strikes."
Ends
About NHS Providers:
- NHS Providers is the membership organisation for the NHS
hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services that
treat patients and service users in the NHS.
- We help those NHS trusts and foundation trusts to deliver
high-quality, patient-focused care by enabling them to learn from
each other, acting as their public voice and helping shape the
system in which they operate.
- NHS Providers has all trusts in England in voluntary
membership, collectively accounting for £104bn of annual
expenditure and employing more than 1.2million staff.
