Ministers slammed as low paid NHS workers get £250

Employees earning less than that will receive a £250 rise next month, but the rest will face another wage freeze as Ministers stressed the need for restraint in the current economic climate.

Unison said nurses, therapists, paramedics, midwives and other health staff have seen the value of their wages fall by 11.6 per cent since the coalition came to power.

The £250 award will still leave thousands of workers struggling to make ends meet because of the rising cost of living, said unions.

The pay announcement covers about 1.3 million NHS workers across the UK.

The Department of Health said 450,000 workers in England will receive the £250 payment, including about 100,000 who work part-time.

The Government said it had accepted recommendations from public sector review bodies, covering NHS staff, as well as prison officers and the armed forces, who will also receive a rise of £250 if they earn £21,000 or less.

Officials stressed that the pay freeze was first raised in the 2010 Budget.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “NHS staff carry out a vital role in caring for the nation. Pay restraint is essential right across the public sector, and the NHS as the largest public service in the country cannot be exempt from that.

“That’s why we are reducing spending on managers, cutting back office administration costs and giving more power to doctors and nurses so we can put patients at the heart of the NHS. Every penny saved from the reduction in management cost will be re-invested into frontline care.

“We made a commitment to protect those on low incomes, which is why I am pleased to confirm that lower-paid NHS staff earning £21,000 or less will receive a flat rate increase of £250 from April 1.”

A Unison spokeswoman said: “Coupled with massive discontent about the hated Health and Social Care Bill, privatisation, cuts and job losses, the pay freeze sends out another message that the NHS is suffering under the coalition Government.

A GMB official said: “A £250 pay rise for the lowest paid in the NHS is not enough to keep pace with the rising cost of living. All GMB members in the NHS will be struggling to make ends meet and this Government’s pay restraint will lead to recruitment and retention problems across the health service and in our hospitals.”

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Dr Peter Carter said: “Nurses are one of the lowest paid professional groups in the public sector and another year of an effective pay cut at the same time as the cost of living continues to rise, means that many families are already struggling to make ends meet.”