Truss resigns: nursing staff ‘deserve better’ after government pursued ‘agenda for the rich’, says health union

Nursing staff “deserve better” after the government pursued an “agenda for the rich”, a health union has said.
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The comments come after Liz Truss resigned as Tory Leader and Prime Minister on Thursday (20 October) - just 44 full days into the job.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s resignation, Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive, Pat Cullen, said: “This government collapsed because it pursued a narrow agenda for the rich - giving most to those who have the most. Working people - our half a million nursing staff chief amongst them - deserve better than that raw deal.

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“A reshuffling of faces, if not met by a radical shift in outlook, will not inspire confidence. In the eyes of our members, perhaps only a fresh election can move the country forward.

“We are halfway through our historic ballot. Nursing staff are voting yes to striking but also yes to a much bigger call for fairness and justice. A new Prime Minister and government - of any party - must be ready for that result in November.”

Nursing staff “deserve better” after the government pursued an “agenda for the rich”, a health union has saidNursing staff “deserve better” after the government pursued an “agenda for the rich”, a health union has said
Nursing staff “deserve better” after the government pursued an “agenda for the rich”, a health union has said

This comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) called for the government’s fiscal statement on 31 October to urgently address pay erosion and punitive pension taxation rules to retain doctors in the NHS.

In a letter to the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, professor Philip Banfield, chair of BMA council, called on Jeremy Hunt to use his “extensive experience” to fix the workforce crisis in the NHS.

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Prof Banfield said that, as recently as July, Hunt had made clear in his now former role as chair of the Health and Social Care Committee that the NHS is facing “the greatest workforce crisis in its history”.

The government must now, as a matter of urgency, “find a long-term solution to the ongoing pension taxation trap forcing doctors out of the NHS”.

Hunt has previously acknowledged that there must be action to address the “national scandal” of punitive pension taxation rules that force doctors to reduce their hours or stop work entirely to avoid being unfairly taxed on their pensions, said the BMA.

Prof Banfield warned that recent measures taken by the government to address the pension tax issue do not go far enough and called for the problem to be fixed by amending the Finance Act in order to address the impact of inflation, including negative growth, and by introducing a tax-unregistered scheme.

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The letter also warned that the government is on a “collision course” with junior doctors in England, who have seen their pay fall by over a quarter since 2008/9. Prof Banfield said the government’s decision to ignore requests to meet with the BMA’s junior doctors committee is “leaving a vacuum that junior doctors are rushing to fill”. A ballot for industrial action is now being prepared for early January.

He advised the Treasury “to lead from the front and work with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to address almost 15 years of real-terms cuts to doctors’ pay”. He also called for the Chancellor, in his upcoming fiscal statement, to “protect NHS funding” and ensure “that previously promised budgets will rise above inflation to avoid cuts by stealth”.

The health service “cannot hope to clear the care backlog or ensure the NHS has the staff it needs without additional funds made available in the face of rising costs,” Prof Banfield added.

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