Top Tory Steve Barclay has hinted NHS staff could get a pay rise.
But the stubborn Health Secretary will only do it for NEXT year - and only if staff get more “productive and efficient”.
Ahead of crunch talks with unions tomorrow, Mr Barclay yet again refused to reopen pay talks over the 4.75% deal for NHS staff in 2022/23.
Instead, he said he would hold “constructive” conversations about pay in 2023/24.
Yet he added any settlement should be “more affordable, where there are productivity and efficiency opportunities”.
A government source told the Sunday Telegraph: “If the unions bring proposed efficiencies to the table, ministers are happy to talk about everything.”
Unions have already blasted the Monday talks and said 2022/23 pay must be resolved to give workers a real-terms rise now.
A union source told the Sunday Telegraph: "They are just hiding behind the pay review body. It is just a distraction technique.
“Expectations for Monday's meeting are very, very low. It's unlikely there is any movement at all."
Grilled by the BBC, Rishi Sunak did not categorically rule out paying nurses more this year - claiming “the door has always been open”.
He said: "When it comes to pay we've always said we want to talk about things that are reasonable, that are affordable and responsible for the country."
But he repeatedly referred to Monday’s talks on pay for 2023/24 - not 2022/23.
Royal College of Nursing General Secretary Pat Cullen said his words were a “chink of optimism” and “a little shift” - but talks “must be about addressing pay from 2022/23”.
It comes as Rishi Sunak is warned two days of nursing strikes on January 18-19 will be the largest in the world if he refuses to negotiate.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen urged the Prime Minister to meet “halfway” - and could accept around 10%, down from an ask of 19%.
In an interview with the Independent website, she said: "We balloted around 320,000 nursing staff.
“My understanding is it has been the largest ballot of nursing staff in the world and it is the largest nursing strike in the world.
"We've also increased the number of organisations (such as NHS Trusts). There are now 70 involved. First time around it was 46."
The NHS will soon “buy up” thousands of care beds to move hospital patients to free up space under a new fund, according to the Sunday Times.
The newspaper reported an emergency winter pressure package will include a hospital discharge fund.
Meanwhile Labour leader Keir Starmer would use spare private healthcare capacity to treat more than 200,000 NHS patients a year, he said last night.
He said: “Labour has a bold plan to slash waiting times by temporarily ramping up partnerships with private providers. I'm urging the Prime Minister to use it.
"But, although vital, it would be just a short reprieve. My Labour government would give Britain its NHS back, through a decade-long programme of renewal and reform, to make the health service fit for the future. No more sticking plaster politics."
Rishi Sunak urged health leaders at an emergency No10 summit yesterday to take "bold and radical" action to alleviate the winter crisis.
The Prime Minister told them during Downing Street talks on Saturday that a "business-as-usual mindset won't fix the challenges we face".
But critics said the discussions were a "talking shop" that will fail to ease the vast pressure on frontline services.
Leaving the meeting, consultant physician James Dunbar said he was "confident that action will be taken”.
But he added: “These are difficult problems to fix though, so I think it's unlikely we'll have it sorted by the end of this winter.”
NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor said there are "no silver bullets" to solve the crisis after "decades of underinvestment".
Rishi Sunak will this week unveil plans for minimum service levels that would ban some ambulance, fire and rail workers from going on strike.
The SNP challenged Keir Starmer - who has said he would repeal the laws - to team up with them to defeat the plans.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP's new Westminster leader, has written to the Labour leader requesting a meeting to discuss how to defeat the "attack on workers' rights".
"Our own political differences are many and obvious,” he wrote.
“But I genuinely hope that, when it comes to this immoral Tory attack, we can find common cause and work together to defend workers' rights and defeat this legislation."
