NHS workers are set to be awarded two payments worth up to £3,000 from the Government in recognition of their hard work.
Some 27,000 healthcare workers, including community nurses, sexual health workers, speech-and-language therapists, physiotherapists, will benefit from this extra funding.
Organisations will receive funding for these extra payments over the coming months, according to the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Other frontline workers at non-NHS organisations will also receive payments which will be worth at least £1,665.
The DHSC said the payments for NHS workers are being provided following the “significant process” that has been made in reducing waiting list times.
Overall NHS waiting lists decreased for four months in a row by a total of 192,000, the Government department said.
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NHS workers are set to get up to £3,000 from the Government
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This latest show of support to healthcare workers is part of the Government’s wider NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Retaining members of staff is a priority for the health service which has been plagued by industrial action as of late.
Since October 2022, doctors, nurses and other NHS staff members have gone on strike over ongoing pay disputes with the Government.
Last week, junior doctors in England voted to continue striking until at least the middle of September 2024.
In 2023, more than one million NHS staff received two one-off payments as well as a five per cent increase in pay.
Despite this, these payments were only given to those who were directly employed by NHS organisations which means some healthcare workers missed out.
Victoria Atkins, the health and social care secretary, outlined why the Government is offering these payments to NHS workers.
She explained: “I hugely value the hard work of all our healthcare staff, and those working in non-NHS organisations offer vital support to patients.
“I want to ensure that eligible staff receive these payments, which is why we chose to deliver this funding and why we have taken the decision to relax the financial eligibility criteria employers must meet.
“It will ensure that hardworking staff and the organisations they work for can fully benefit from the NHS pay deal.”
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PAPatricia Marquis, the Royal College of Nursing’s (RC) director, described the one-off payments as a “huge leap forward” but noted that those not directly employed by the NHS deserve the same treatment.
Reacting to the announcement from the DHSC, she said: “They deliver NHS care and deserve the same treatment.
“We will ask for assurance that the financial amounts are worth the same.
“Nursing staff providing publicly funded care, on whatever contracts, must be paid this award. Waiting for 12 months added insult to injury and the department must learn never to repeat this.”