Nursing staff in England are currently voting on strike action in what could be the first country-wide nurses strike in history.
Bone-headed and tin-eared Health Secretary Thérèse Coffey followed the mould of her leader Liz Truss when she told the Evening Standard that nursing staff can leave the UK “if they want to” if they are concerned about poor pay and short staffing.
She re-emphasised her rejection of any notion of an increased pay offer for NHS workers in England.
In the interview, Dr Coffey told reporters that the government had already helped “in a number of different ways” including the energy price cap.
“I feel we have acted, and NHS staff have already been offered an annual pay rise of £1,400. We have accepted the recommendation of the pay review body,” she said.
With around 47,000 unfilled NHS nursing vacancies in England, the Health Secretary said the government would rather recruit overseas nurses than improve pay.
Speaking about nurses leaving for better conditions abroad, Ms Coffey said: “It is their choice of course if they want to do that, but then we also have an open route for people to come into this country who are professional staff.”
NHS staff are voting on strike action soon and will be encouraged by the gathering storm of industrial action taken by transport, post office, education, council and port workers in the next few weeks.