Medics criticise Labour’s plan to use voluntary overtime to clear NHS waiting lists
Doctors and nurses warn NHS already running on ‘goodwill’ and demand ‘proper’ pay rise
Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour will provide £1.1bn to pay for more doctors and nurses overtime (Photo: Jeff Moore/PA)
By Richard Vaughan
October 8, 2023
Doubts have been raised over Labour’s plan to pay doctors and nurses more to work overtime in an attempt to bring down NHS waiting lists.
Medics warned that the plan, which will lead to an extra £1.1bn in funding being pumped into the health system, is unlikely to work as it relies on an already overstretched workforce.
Sir Keir Starmer announced the plans on Sunday, which he said would be funded by scrapping the non-domiciled tax status, and will enable the NHS to provide an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments in the first year.
The proposals rely on doctors and nurses volunteering for working more night shifts and weekends, but the Labour leader said it would help to ease their own workloads despite the payments being lower than in the private sector.
Sir Keir told the BBC that doctors “will probably get more (money) in the private sector” but he believed they would do overtime for the NHS “because they want to bring down the waiting list as well”.
NHS staff “are up for this because they know that bringing down the waiting list will reduce the pressure on them in the long run”, he said.
He told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “They want to do this just as much as we do and it is desperately needed.
“We need growth in our economy, we need to raise living standards across the country. We will never do that with the mess that this Government has made of the NHS.”
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By Richard Vaughan
October 8, 2023
Doubts have been raised over Labour’s plan to pay doctors and nurses more to work overtime in an attempt to bring down NHS waiting lists.
Medics warned that the plan, which will lead to an extra £1.1bn in funding being pumped into the health system, is unlikely to work as it relies on an already overstretched workforce.
Sir Keir Starmer announced the plans on Sunday, which he said would be funded by scrapping the non-domiciled tax status, and will enable the NHS to provide an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments in the first year.
The proposals rely on doctors and nurses volunteering for working more night shifts and weekends, but the Labour leader said it would help to ease their own workloads despite the payments being lower than in the private sector.
Sir Keir told the BBC that doctors “will probably get more (money) in the private sector” but he believed they would do overtime for the NHS “because they want to bring down the waiting list as well”.
NHS staff “are up for this because they know that bringing down the waiting list will reduce the pressure on them in the long run”, he said.
He told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “They want to do this just as much as we do and it is desperately needed.
“We need growth in our economy, we need to raise living standards across the country. We will never do that with the mess that this Government has made of the NHS.”
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But one consultant doctor in Newcastle told i that there would be “little appetite for staff to carry out more weekend work than we already do”.
It came as the British Medical Association said that paying health workers for more overtime was not a substitute for paying them a proper wage.
BMA council chairman Professor Philip Banfield said the “vast majority of doctors already take on extra work”.
“For far too long, it has been our goodwill keeping the health service afloat,” he added. “While this move may very well incentivise further overtime, it is only once doctors receive restoration of lost relative value will we be in a position to look at the impact that this extra overtime funding may have on waiting lists.”
Royal College of Nursing chief nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Nursing staff work so much overtime that is never paid – staying behind an hour or two after 12-hour shifts to keep patients safe – so a change in this culture is needed.”
But ultimately, she said, hundreds of thousands more nursing staff could be needed.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The NHS needs all the help it can get. This is fine as a stop-gap measure, but this is all it must be.
“Health workers are already up against it and there are only so many hours in a day. But a voluntary scheme, where staff are paid fairly, that avoids the use of expensive agencies, makes sense in the short-term.”
RCN criticises Sir Keir Starmer's plan to use more overtime to cut NHS waiting lists
The Royal College of Nursing said there needed to be a "change" to the culture of overtime as it called on Labour to recruit more staff.
Alexandra Rogers
Political reporter @Journoamrogers
Sunday 8 October 2023
Nursing union leaders have criticised Sir Keir Starmer's plan to cut waiting lists by encouraging staff to work overtime - saying "too often the NHS runs on the goodwill of staff".
The Labour leader said he would pump an extra £1.1bn into the NHS to allow staff to work evening and weekend shifts.
"Nursing staff must feel valued by fair pay and treatment - there is no other way to boost staffing levels and give patients the treatment they deserve."
However, the plan received a warmer welcome from Unison, whose general secretary, Christina McAnea, said: "This is fine as a stop-gap measure, but this is all it must be.
"Health workers are already up against it and there are only so many hours in a day. But a voluntary scheme, where staff are paid fairly, that avoids the use of expensive agencies, makes sense in the short-term."
The British Medical Association (BMA) added: "Paying doctors properly for overtime is not only the right thing to do but would be more cost effective than using the private sector or making extracontractual payments.
"While this move may very well incentivise further overtime, it is only once doctors receive restoration of lost relative value, will we be in a position to look at the impact that this extra overtime funding may have on waiting lists."
The Labour leader defended his plan and argued that doctors would sign up for extra weekend despite being able to earn more in the private sector.
He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg doctors "will probably get more [money] in the private sector" but he believed they would work overtime for the NHS "because they want to bring down the waiting list as well".
He was supported by Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, who rejected suggestions Sir Keir's proposals were "wishful thinking", saying it would be "voluntary" for staff and that they would be "paid fairly".
Asked by Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News' Sunday Morning whether he recognised that NHS staff were already suffering from burnout and exhaustion, he said: "The two reassurances I can offer is firstly, this is not compulsion. This is voluntary. Staff will be given the choice to opt in.
"The second reassurance is that the reason we've adopted this approach is because it's an approach that has already been shown to be working in some London hospitals.
"It's a credible plan, it's workable. It will create two million more appointments a year and that will be game-changing in terms of getting waiting lists down and busting the Tory backlog."
Sir Keir's intervention comes as he faces criticism from union bosses for not providing a more bold policy offer to the electorate.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, accused Labour of being "too timid" and warned it against "limping into Number 10", while Mick Lynch, the boss of the RMT rail union, also told Sky News: "There's no point in being timid or hiding your light under a bushel.
"People need something to vote for, not just something to vote against."
The Royal College of Nursing said there needed to be a "change" to the culture of overtime as it called on Labour to recruit more staff.
Alexandra Rogers
Political reporter @Journoamrogers
Sunday 8 October 2023
Nursing union leaders have criticised Sir Keir Starmer's plan to cut waiting lists by encouraging staff to work overtime - saying "too often the NHS runs on the goodwill of staff".
The Labour leader said he would pump an extra £1.1bn into the NHS to allow staff to work evening and weekend shifts.
He said his overtime plan would enable the health service to provide an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments in the first year of a Labour government.
The current NHS waiting list stands at around 7.7 million people.
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which represents 500,000 members, was critical of the proposals, arguing nursing staff already work "so much overtime that is never paid" and that a "change in this culture is needed".
"As part of their shift patterns, weekend work is routine for many," the union said.
"Any Labour government would likely take office at a time of record unfilled nurse jobs, in excess of 40,000, and so the long-term answer is of course to have more staff overall.
"When many nurses already work additional full days to make ends meet financially, extra capacity is urgently required.
The current NHS waiting list stands at around 7.7 million people.
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which represents 500,000 members, was critical of the proposals, arguing nursing staff already work "so much overtime that is never paid" and that a "change in this culture is needed".
"As part of their shift patterns, weekend work is routine for many," the union said.
"Any Labour government would likely take office at a time of record unfilled nurse jobs, in excess of 40,000, and so the long-term answer is of course to have more staff overall.
"When many nurses already work additional full days to make ends meet financially, extra capacity is urgently required.
"Nursing staff must feel valued by fair pay and treatment - there is no other way to boost staffing levels and give patients the treatment they deserve."
However, the plan received a warmer welcome from Unison, whose general secretary, Christina McAnea, said: "This is fine as a stop-gap measure, but this is all it must be.
"Health workers are already up against it and there are only so many hours in a day. But a voluntary scheme, where staff are paid fairly, that avoids the use of expensive agencies, makes sense in the short-term."
The British Medical Association (BMA) added: "Paying doctors properly for overtime is not only the right thing to do but would be more cost effective than using the private sector or making extracontractual payments.
"While this move may very well incentivise further overtime, it is only once doctors receive restoration of lost relative value, will we be in a position to look at the impact that this extra overtime funding may have on waiting lists."
The Labour leader defended his plan and argued that doctors would sign up for extra weekend despite being able to earn more in the private sector.
He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg doctors "will probably get more [money] in the private sector" but he believed they would work overtime for the NHS "because they want to bring down the waiting list as well".
He was supported by Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, who rejected suggestions Sir Keir's proposals were "wishful thinking", saying it would be "voluntary" for staff and that they would be "paid fairly".
Asked by Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News' Sunday Morning whether he recognised that NHS staff were already suffering from burnout and exhaustion, he said: "The two reassurances I can offer is firstly, this is not compulsion. This is voluntary. Staff will be given the choice to opt in.
"The second reassurance is that the reason we've adopted this approach is because it's an approach that has already been shown to be working in some London hospitals.
"It's a credible plan, it's workable. It will create two million more appointments a year and that will be game-changing in terms of getting waiting lists down and busting the Tory backlog."
Sir Keir's intervention comes as he faces criticism from union bosses for not providing a more bold policy offer to the electorate.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, accused Labour of being "too timid" and warned it against "limping into Number 10", while Mick Lynch, the boss of the RMT rail union, also told Sky News: "There's no point in being timid or hiding your light under a bushel.
"People need something to vote for, not just something to vote against."
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