The audience for this Thursday Question moment burst out laughing after host Fiona Bruce’s response to a panelist’s words. Minister of Health Will Quince told the BBC audience that he “regularly” meets with unions, to which Ms Bruce replied: “What, to talk about wages?”
This discussion follows the second day of the nurses’ strike, with more union action planned for next month.
Both nursing and ambulance staff in England and Wales will go on a joint strike on February 6 as disputes over pay continue.
Responding to public concerns on the BBC’s main political programme, Mr Quince said: “Retention is just as important as recruitment and we need to ensure we retain the best nurses in the profession.”
Ms Bruce put him on the spot asking how he planned to do this, to which Mr Quince replied with statistics that the UK has over 10,500 more nurses than at this time last year.
However, Ms Bruce countered that there are still fewer doctors and fewer nurses, with an audience member indicating that there are still “50,000 vacancies”.
Mr Quince added: “I want the NHS to be the best place in the world to work, so I have regular meetings with unions and others, and I know it’s not just about salary.”
Host Ms. Bruce quipped, “What, to talk about paying?”, causing the audience to laugh.
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The health minister tried to go further: “I know salary is important, but so are working conditions and work environments.
“I will continue those talks, but we have instructed NHS England to prepare and publish a long-term plan for the NHS workforce, covering five, 10, 15 years.
“We have 72,000 nurses in training [but] we have to look to the future, and that personnel plan that the Chancellor has drawn up will be independently verified.
“So that we can plan for the future.”
Ahead of the combined strike day in February, hospitals said non-urgent surgeries should be canceled as emergency departments face severe staff shortages.
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Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Trusts have been warning for months that coordinated strikes are a possibility if the government and unions fail to reach a swift agreement on this year’s wage award.
“The prospect of paramedics and nurses going on strike on the same day is very worrying. It could be the biggest day of union action the NHS has ever seen.
“We need ministers to urgently sit down with unions to address the most important wage issue for this fiscal year, otherwise there will be no light at the end of the tunnel.”