NHS pay

I recently read an article by the Daily Torygraph - sorry - Telegraph, declaring that the NHS is being swamped by what it called a "stealth" system of pay rises that was costing a billion pounds a year extra every year. Read it here. I think the comments at the bottom of the page put the article into perspective too.

I would like to weigh in on this issue however. 

Stealth means to do something so quietly and carefully that no one notices.

So first up I have a problem with the term "stealth". The NHS pay bands are available to view if you look for them and the incremental points are plain to see. They are not hidden they are in plain view. Right off the bat I know where the Telegraph article is heading and who prompted it. The Government. 

I was in conversation with a consultant a while back and he was describing a scenario where the hospital board were being asked to find ways of saving on the pay budget because it was 70%of the hospital budget. I have blogged on this issue before I believe. There is a good reason for this apparent overbalancing. Care is given by PEOPLE! It cannot be given over the phone or by a robot (yet). Therefore a patient receives their care from people, you know flesh and blood. The other issue is that a lot of the caregivers are highly qualified - degree status or above and deserve recognition for that level of qualification.

IF you think the NHS budget is too stretched now just think what it would be like if this country piled the same amount of GDP into NHS that the rest of Europe do. the average for the developed world is 5% but in the UK it is just 3%. So you could argue that we get our health care on the cheap

Finally the incremental points recognise, as mentioned in a comment in the article are there to recognise increasing experience. A nurse 5 years post qualification is worth at least that much more than a newly qualified one

Rant over