NHS at 70: Welsh health staff get pay offer on anniversary

NHS staff in Wales have been offered a pay rise in line with those in England as events are held to mark the 70th anniversary of the health service.

The widely-expected pay offer would mean staff would earn the same as those across the border, who struck a 6.5% three-year pay deal in June.

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said, if accepted by unions, it would be a "much-deserved pay rise".

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the offer was "only the beginning".

Union Cymru Wales said its members had endured eight years of pay caps but the Welsh Government had "listened to our concerns during negotiations".

The union said it would ballot its members on the pay award over the summer.

It comes as events are held across Wales to mark 70 years of the NHS.

It was founded in July 1948 by Tredegar-born Aneurin Bevan, then minister for health, and celebrations have already been held in his home town.

On Thursday, Prince Charles visited a hospital in Ebbw Vale, named after Bevan, and an event also took place at the Senedd, with First Minister Carwyn Jones among those attending.

The founding of the NHS made healthcare free at the point of use for everyone in the UK for the first time.

The pay offer comes at a time when the NHS, both in England and Wales, is often in the headlines for facing major staffing issues and increasing demands and pressure.

There are concerns the UK nations are failing to learn lessons from each other, with the NHS instead being used as a "political football".

Mr Gething said the offer, which has been negotiated with employers and unions, would mean "all NHS staff in Wales will have pay parity with their counterparts in England".

It needs to be accepted by union ballots before it can go ahead and would apply to all staff, apart from doctors, dentists and senior leaders.

The RCN in Wales said: "This is the largest pay rise offered to nurses in 10 years and it has been a long and arduous journey to get to this point, but the success of the Scrap the Cap campaign shows the power our members can wield over government policy.

"But this deal is only the beginning. We will continue to fight for better pay and conditions for all members of the nursing family - whether in the NHS or the independent sector."

Unison Wales will also ballot its members during the summer.

The union's head of health Donna Hutton said: "Welsh healthcare workers are working harder than ever before.

"They have endured eight years of pay caps costing them the equivalent to a fifth of their pay and they deserve a substantial pay rise."

This is confirmation of what Vaughan Gething promised to do in March.

It would be almost unthinkable for the Welsh Government not to have broadly matched the English pay deal.

Had it not done so, it would have risked worsening Wales' problems in terms of recruitment and retention.

But it's no coincidence the Welsh Government chose to announce this on the NHS' 70th anniversary to get maximum exposure on a day of events and celebrations.

Timeline of the NHS

1948: Created by health minister Aneurin Bevan

1952: First prescription charges introduced - but fees later abolished in Wales

1958: First mass-vaccination programme sees polio and diphtheria jabs offered to under-15s

1961: Contraceptive pill becomes available

1968: UK's first heart transplant operation

1972: CT scanners used for first time

1978: World's first test tube baby is born in Oldham District General Hospital

1988: Breast screening programme starts

1990: Organ donor register created

2015: Presumed consent for organ donors comes into force in Wales