Labour ‘first step’ pledges spark call for more nurses

To improve patient waits, Sir Keir promised to deliver 10,000 additional NHS appointments and operations a week.

“That same depleted workforce cannot simply be expected to keep doing more”

Pat Cullen

In a speech today, Sir Keir said it was “impossible to overstate the seriousness” of the issue of NHS waiting times.

There are currently nearly eight million operations and appointments needed, he said, adding: “That’s the worst it’s ever been.”

He recalled being approached on Sunday in a coffee shop by a member of the public who had a problem with her eye which was “red raw, swollen and causing her a huge amount of pain”.

The woman had already been waiting 18 months for an operation to fix the issue and had recently been told that she would now have to wait another year, she told Sir Keir.

“That’s not unusual, there are so many versions of this story – whether it’s knees or hips or whatever the operation may be,” he said in his speech.

“That is the price so many people are paying, and that’s why we have to deal with it.”

Sir Keir said the Labour Party would pay for the additional NHS appointments through “cracking down on tax avoiders and the non-dom tax status”.

‘Non-dom’ refers to a government policy that allows UK residents whose permanent home is outside the UK to avoid paying UK tax on foreign income.

Cutting NHS waiting lists has already been revealed as one of the Labour Party’s priorities should it be voted into government.

In October 2023, Sir Keir said this would be achieved by encouraging nurses and their colleagues to take up paid overtime shifts to deliver extra out-of-hours appointments.

Reacting to the speech today, Royal College of Nursing chief executive and general secretary Professor Pat Cullen said: “Central to this NHS pledge has to be a commitment to more nurses and better conditions for them.

“A deliverable plan on waiting lists and round-the-clock services relies on enough staff, who feel valued and able to give high-quality care.”

Pat Cullen

One of the other six first steps announced today by Sir Keir was to recruit 6,500 more teachers, and Professor Cullen called for a similar pledge for nursing.

She said: “Like the pledge on teachers, the public will expect to see similar for NHS staff and nursing.

“The health service is officially missing tens of thousands of registered nurses right now.

“In today’s NHS, pressures on staff mean almost nine in 10 nurses worked when they were ill to plug gaps in rotas and hold services together.

“That same depleted workforce cannot simply be expected to keep doing more.”