Thousands of NHS workers fighting for fair pay have been invited to the Coronation.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said it was “a mark of the nation’s profound gratitude” to health staff, but nurses branded it “a contradiction”.
A nurse honoured by the Queen tonight hailed the royals for handing thousands of NHS heroes a pass to the Coronation – while the Tories still snub them.
Nearly 4,000 medics and Armed Forces veterans will fill a grandstand beside Buckingham Palace when King Charles is crowned on May 6.
Many of the NHS staff helped save lives in the coronavirus pandemic.
And Professor Nola Ishmael is furious at the double standards the invitation exposes – with hard-working staff at the same showpiece as MPs who refuse them fair pay.
Highly-respected Prof Ishmael, who received the OBE at Buckingham Palace, said: “It’s a contradiction. On the one hand we are highly regarded and valued, but we have been disregarded financially. We’re valued when there is no money to be to be talked about and not valued when there’s money to be talked about.
“Inviting NHS heroes to celebrate the Coronation is another example of that contradiction.”
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the invitation was “a mark of the nation’s profound gratitude” to those who have dedicated their lives to public service.
But Prof Ishmael, 80, blasted the 5% pay offer to nurses as a “huge insult” and believes PM Rishi Sunak should authorise an improved deal.
She added: “During the pandemic, nurses were the backbone – they carried on in positive spirits no matter what.
“We are working to survive, to pay a mortgage to help educate our children – they need the backing, support and recognition. For too long the Government has traded with the goodwill of nurses and doctors.”
Prof Ishmael arrived in Britain from Barbados in 1963 as a trainee. She worked in London hospitals and rose through the ranks to become a director of nursing before joining the Department of Health.
Her remarks come as a Techne UK poll for this newspaper found most voters backed NHS strikers.
Some 63% said they supported last week’s four-day action which saw thousands of junior doctors stop work after their pay talks faltered.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “Sunak has learned nothing from his failed approach to strikes in the NHS, which have already led to 300,000 cancelled operations and appointments. He’s repeating the same mistakes again by refusing to negotiate with junior doctors – the very doctors who represent the future of the NHS.”
Ms Rayner spoke after nurses pencilled in another walkout over the May bank holiday in two weeks’ time.
Friday night saw thousands of Royal College of Nursing union members reject the 5% offer – though Unison members chose to accept it.
The planned 48-hour action will see thousands of nurses in emergency departments, intensive care and cancer wards take to picket lines. Health bosses have warned further strikes will worsen the already lengthy waiting lists for treatment, which PM Sunak has pledged to remedy.
NHS staff fighting for a better deal include many lower-paid workers struggling to put food on the table.
Junior doctor Karim Salem, from Leicester, today sounded a fresh warning about financial hardship among his colleagues. He is forced to borrow money from his pensioner parents to make ends meet.
The 39-year-old, who has been working in the NHS for 12 years, said: “I came out of university thousands of pounds in debt and I’m still maxed out on my credit card for £11,000.” Dr Salem grew up in rural Egypt and relied on a private healthcare system which saw his family skip meals to pay for treatment.
He added: “My dad used to suffer kidney infections. I don’t come from an affluent family and we often had to skip meals in order to pay for his treatment. When you monetise a health system, it no longer becomes personal, it becomes about trying to charge as much for as many things as possible.
“So, coming to this country at the age of 12, I saw the NHS as the jewel in the crown that must be safeguarded at all costs.”
Junior doctors want a 35% rise to cover what they claim is a 26% loss in earnings since 2009.
The British Medical Association, which represents junior doctors, said it was “not ruling in or out” of action with other unions. Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairman of the BMA junior doctors committee, said if the Government refused to negotiate, “we are prepared to strike again”, adding: “We will consider all options available to us.”
The offer to nurses is a 5% rise for 2023-24, plus a one-off lump sum of around £1,655. But RCN members rejected the deal by 54% to 46%.
Sir Julian Hartley, from NHS Providers, representing staff, said the May strike would see “unprecedented” levels of action.
Nurses have walked out on four days this year but there were exemptions, so nursing cover continued in critical areas. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said excessive pay rises will fuel inflation. He urged members of GMB and Unite – representing smaller numbers of workers – to take the offer as it would be “best for patients and staff”. Meanwhile, a mock-up shows how big screens in The Mall will show the Coronation, and details of a concert at Windsor Castle on May 7 are confirmed.
The King and Queen Camilla, as she will be called then, will be entertained by the likes of Katy Perry, Andrea Bocelli and Lionel Richie – who met Charles at a Prince’s Trust event in Barbados four years ago.
