Janet Finch-Saunders
3. Will the First Minister make a statement on recruitment in the Welsh NHS?
Carwyn Jones
Yes. The Welsh Government continues to support recruitment into the NHS and the picture is a positive one, which shows that, between 2012 and 2013, the total number of staff has increased by almost 400, and we continue to have more staff per head than, for example, England.
Janet Finch-Saunders
The British Medical Association Wales, however, has highlighted how the Welsh Government’s rejection of the 1% pay rise proposed by the review board of doctors and dentists would result in Welsh doctors earning 5% less than their UK counterparts. This is, obviously, going to affect the chances of attracting and recruiting more staff. When will your Government get a grip on this situation and start addressing the very real concerns of our general practitioners, doctors and all within the medical profession across Wales?
Carwyn Jones
Do you know what I find when I speak to doctors? They say to me that they are glad that they work in Wales, given the fact that they see what is happening in England. We have received the pay review body’s recommendation. We are working with representatives from professional bodies and trade unions on how an equivalent sum to that being made available in England can be distributed to national health service staff in Wales.
I refer Members to the fact that the front page of ‘The Times’ last week contained criticism of the UK Government’s attempts to escape from its failure to fund the NHS properly in England. Only on Sunday, we saw a former Conservative Minister attacking the UK Government for its failure to fund the NHS properly in England. It shows that, when you put the Conservatives in charge, you see the NHS starved of funds.