Jeremy Hunt confronted over why nurses are using food banks in live TV interview

'But is that enough considering the brilliant work they do? I think many people would say that we want to pay them more'

Sunday 07 May 2017 10:01 BST

Jeremy Hunt asked why nurses are having to go to food banks

Jeremy Hunt has said nurses are paid more than the national average when asked why some are using food banks.

The Health Secretary was asked on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show about Theresa May's stumbling answer that there are "many complex reasons" why nurses are using food banks.

Mr Hunt went on to ask whether nurses are paid enough, adding that the NHS budget may be affected by the Government's Brexit negotiations.

Asked by Andrew Marr whether there were "complex reasons" nurses have to go to food banks, Mr Hunt said: "Well let's look at the facts.

"The minimum a nurse can be paid in this country is £22,000, £27,000 in inner London. That assumes they do no night shifts or antisocial hours, which in practice most of them will.

"The average pay for nurses is £31,000, which is more than the national average."

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

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1/6Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

The elderly

“We acknowledge that there are pressures on the health service, there are always extra pressures on the NHS in the winter, but we have the added pressures of the ageing population and the growing complex needs of the population,” Theresa May has said. Waits of over 12 hours in A&E among elderly people have more than doubled in two years, according to figures from NHS Digital.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs

Jeremy Hunt has called for a “honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments”, saying that around a third of A&E patients were in hospital unnecessarily. Mr Hunt told Radio 4’s Today programme the NHS now had more doctors, nurses and funding than ever, but explained what he called “very serious problems at some hospitals” by suggesting pressures were increasing in part because people are going to A&Es when they should not. He urged patients to visit their GP for non-emergency illnesses, outlined plans to release time for family doctors to support urgent care work, and said the NHS will soon be able to deliver seven-day access to a GP from 8am to 8pm. But doctors struggling amid a GP recruitment crisis said Mr Hunt’s plans were unrealistic and demanded the Government commit to investing in all areas of the overstretched health service.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Simon Stevens, head of NHS England

Reports that “key members” of Ms May’s team used internal meetings to accuse Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, of being unenthusiastic and unresponsive have been rejected by Downing Street. Mr Stevens had allegedly rejected claims made by Ms May that the NHS had been given more funding than required.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Previous health policy, not funding

In an interview with Sky News’s Sophy Ridge, Ms May acknowledged the NHS faced pressures but said it was a problem that had been “ducked by government over the years”. She refuted the claim that hospitals were tackling a “humanitarian crisis” and said health funding was at record levels. “We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need,” said the Prime Minister. “They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required… Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in.” But doctors accused Ms May of being “in denial” about how the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care were behind a spiralling crisis in NHS hospitals.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours

Mr Hunt was accused of watering down the flagship target to treat all A&E patients within four hours. The Health Secretary told MPs the promise – introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2000 – should only be for “those who actually need it”. Amid jeers in the Commons, Mr Hunt said only four other countries pledged to treat all patients within a similar timeframe and all had “less stringent” rules. But Ms May has now said the Government will stand by the four-hour target for A&E, which says 95 per cent of patients must be dealt with within that time frame.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

No one

Mr Hunt was accused of “hiding” from the public eye following news of the Red Cross’s comments and didn’t make an official statement for two days. He was also filmed refusing to answer questions from journalists who pursued him down the street yesterday to ask whether he planned to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting time target. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby pressed the Health Secretary on his position on the matter, saying “the public will want to know, Mr Hunt”. “Sorry Beth, I’ve answered questions about this already,” replied Mr Hunt. “But you didn’t answer questions on this. You said it was over-interpreted in the House of Commons and you didn’t want to water it down. Is that what you’re saying?” said Ms Rigby. “It’s very difficult, because how are we going to explain to the public what your intention is, when you change your position and then won’t answer the question, Mr Hunt”. But the Health Secretary maintained his silence until he reached his car and got in.

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Mr Marr interrupted to say nurses' average pay was down by 11 per cent in real terms.

Mr Hunt replied: "Well we don't agree with those numbers, but still they're getting paid more than the national average.

"But is that enough considering the brilliant work they do? I think many people would say that we want to pay them more. And I think they do an incredible job."

"So if you want more money to go into the NHS, and this Government recognises we will need to put more money into the NHS and social care system because of the pressures we face, then the question is how you get there."

He went on to talk about the Government's Brexit negotiations, saying: "If we don't get a good Brexit outcome, and we don't protect the economic recovery, the jobs that so many people depend on whose taxes pay for the NHS... that will be a disaster for the NHS."

It comes after a report revealed the number of people using food banks in the UK over the last year had risen to a record high.

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Jeremy Hunt confronted over why nurses are using food banks in live TV interview

'But is that enough considering the brilliant work they do? I think many people would say that we want to pay them more'

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

The elderly

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Simon Stevens, head of NHS England

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Previous health policy, not funding

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

No one

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