New analysis from the Royal College of Nursing has highlighted an increasingly concerning financial outlook for nursing staff, even with proposed NHS pay rise in parts of the UK.

With the health and social care levy now in effect, which sees national insurance contributions rise from 12 per cent to 13.25 per cent, the RCN says that even with an expected three per cent pay rise for NHS staff this year, a nurse at the top of band 5 will face a real terms drop of £935 in their take home pay in the face of rising inflation.

That figure is based on a current annual salary of £31,534 and inflation forecast to be eight per cent.

With the cost of living spiralling out of control and decades of below inflation pay awards, the RCN is reminding government ministers that without proper investment in the nursing profession, they risk losing more staff and putting patient care in jeopardy.

The RCN is campaigning for an NHS pay rise of five per cent above inflation.

Patricia Marquis said: “Thes national insurance rise is part of a concerning financial outlook set to leave an experienced nurse £935 per year worse off in real terms even after the UK government’s proposed 3% NHS pay award. Nursing staff are already feeling the financial strain with the recent increase in petrol prices, heating bills and the cost-of-living crisis. They feel they have given a huge amount throughout the pandemic and are now being asked to pay for the recovery of the very health and care system they kept running for the last two years.

“The efforts of the pandemic will leave a lasting mark on those that led the response with many saying they’re exhausted and that there is not enough staff for them to do their jobs properly. This is the reality of the tens of thousands of nursing vacancies across health and care. Ministers now have a simple choice to make – give nursing staff the pay rise they deserve that does not leave them worse off in real terms or risk an exodus of the very staff they need for the long-term recovery of safe patient care. Not acting now will make that recovery take even longer.”