Thank you for contacting me regarding nurses pay in Wales. Firstly, I would like to thank all the nurses in Wales for their service, particularly during the immensely difficult circumstances over the last three years. This is an important issue, and one that should be treated in a way that recognises their tremendous service and dedication to patients and their families all across the country.
Firstly, having been a devolved matter in Wales since 1999, we must recognise the role that the Welsh Labour Government has had in the poor management of the Welsh NHS, and reflect on how their real-terms cut to funding has resulted in dire consequences for the our NHS. It is worth noting that the Welsh Labour Government is the only government in the UK to have cut their NHS budget.
Overall, however, we welcome the renewed offer to nurses from the Welsh Government and hope it brings an end to the strikes that we have seen throughout the country. The Welsh Conservatives do, however, remain disappointed that the Labour Government did not originally put a more sensible offer on the table in February, having told Wales that it did not have the funds to better pay our nurses. We believe this was another example of Labour, yet again, trying to underspend and mismanage the NHS budget.
Looking ahead, the Welsh Conservatives are committed to rebuilding the NHS, and will continue to fight on behalf of it’s staff. I am pleased to announce that my colleague, the Shadow Minister for Health, Russell George MS, has a clear plan for the Welsh NHS, improving our healthcare services through an extra 2% uplift in the NHS budget every year. This continued uplift will ensure that nurses get the renumeration they deserve, and will cut the number of job vacancies throughout our healthcare services – an ever-increasing figure under Labour leadership.
Finally, I would once again like to thank all the hard work carried out by the nurses, doctors, and support staff of the NHS.