The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called for general practice nurses (GPNs) in England to ‘get the pay rise they were promised’ in response to a social media post by prime minister Rishi Sunak.
To mark the launch of the new ‘Pharmacy First’ service in England, the prime minister posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, which showed him visiting a community pharmacy.
Mr Sunak’s social media post was accompanied by a message that read: ‘Expanding pharmacy services. Ending the 8am rush to get seen. Freeing up millions of GP appointments.’
It added: ‘We’re cutting NHS waiting lists and helping patients get the care they need more quickly.’
The Pharmacy First service, which went live on 31 January, enables pharmacists to treat seven common conditions without patients needing to see a GP.
The official X account of the RCN reposted the prime minister’s video with a message stating: ‘These words will ring hollow for the millions on record waiting lists for the routine treatment.’
It added: ‘If the PM wants patients to get the care they need more quickly, he should invest in the nursing workforce – and make sure GP nurses get the pay rise they were promised.’
The RCN has recently been surveying GPNs on whether they received the full 6% pay uplift announced by the government for all salaried practice staff for 2023/24.
This followed concerns that some GPNs would miss out on the full uplift because of the way the funding used for the rise has been distributed to practices – which could see some not being given enough to cover the rise, while others could get more than necessary.
Meanwhile, GP practices in Wales have expressed concerns about their ability to employ nurses because they are unable to offer competitive wages.
