IN response to the shocking outcome of the one per cent pay-rise offered to our valuable NHS this week, I felt it was appropriate to comment.

Firstly, this is not a ‘pay-rise’ as the one per cent offer falls below the increasing cost of living, so in essence, our NHS workers have been offered a ‘pay-cut’

This pandemic has not only highlighted how valuable our NHS workers are across the country, but how undervalued, overstretched, under resourced and underpaid they are.

The reality for our NHS is that all nurses, paramedics, and the countless others that have been at the forefront of this pandemic, are suffering.

They are suffering with the everyday challenges they face on the front line, that none of us could ever comprehend and in turn, this is having a massive impact on their mental health and well-being.

Even before Covid-19, staffing levels within the NHS were far lower than they needed to be, therefore the NHS was not prepared for the pandemic and it is the workers that have paid the price.

Attempts to make them pay for the pandemic are unjust and, completely unnecessary.

This Government have not just demonstrated a clear level of insincerity, from all the smiling and clapping outside Number 10 throughout the pandemic, it also adds to the insult our NHS workers will be feeling.

I have contacted Julian Smith MP to ask for him to explain to the many NHS workers within our constituency, to understand the rationale for his Government’s decision.

We all took the time to clap and celebrate, quite rightly, for our NHS - Now it's time to raise your voice in support of our NHS workers and ensure that they get a realistic, adequate pay-rise and equally important, one that they are long overdue.

Brian McDaid - Labour Parliamentary Candidate – Skipton & Ripon Constituency.

Skipton