Nurse pay reform must be ‘top of agenda’ for new health secretary, says RCN

The newly appointed health secretary has been warned of the challenges within GP practice and community nursing services and urged to prioritise nurse pay reform and career progression, in a message from the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN’s) leader.

RCN chief executive and general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger has welcomed former chief secretary to the Treasury and Ealing North MP James Murray as the new health secretary.

He succeeds Wes Streeting, who resigned on Thursday (14 May) citing his ‘lost confidence’ in the Prime Minister.

The RCN has today urged Mr Murray to ‘do the right thing by nursing’ including ‘delivering reform of pay and career progression’ for nursing staff.

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‘I welcome the new health and social care secretary into his role and look forward to working with him,’ said Professor Ranger.

‘Whether in GP surgeries, hospitals, the community, mental health or social care, there are no shortage of challenges in his in-tray.

‘At the heart of them all is a depleted, undervalued nursing workforce which will be looking for the backing of the new secretary of state.’

She added: ‘As a former Treasury minister, he will know only too well the power of investment, and I would urge him to do the right thing by nursing.

‘That is the quickest route to delivering better quality care for patients.

‘Top of his agenda must be delivering the improvements needed across health and care including long-overdue reform of pay and career progression for nursing staff. We stand ready to be part of the solution.’

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Mr Murray previously served on the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee during the Covid-19 pandemic, where NHS staffing and workforce pressures – including nursing shortages and retention – were regular topics.

In March 2020, he asked the former health secretary Matt Hancock what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing travel and housing subsidies in order to retain and attract more registered nurses to London.

In the same month, he asked about plans for recruitment and retention incentives for nurses.

Recently, Professor Ranger called for the government’s work to review the roles and pay of Band 5 NHS nurses on Agenda for Change (AfC) to be mirrored across ‘the whole of nursing’.

She recognised that while general practice nurses (GPNs) are largely excluded from the review scheme, the RCN has made it ‘absolutely clear’ to ministers that the issue of pay bands and career progression must be looked at in all nurse settings.

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Speaking during a keynote address at our Nursing in Practice London event at the end of April, Professor Ranger said she hopes the same principles used to improve pay for AfC nurses during this review will be the same for those working in general practice.

This comes as Nursing in Practice published a new and exclusive report examining the pay, terms and conditions of nurses working in general practice. Nursing in Practice’s General practice nurse pay: A salary survey of the profession 2026 focuses on GPN basic pay and salaries, annual pay uplifts, pensions, employment benefits, the additional roles reimbursement scheme and more.