South Cambs MP campaigns for pay rise for NHS staff

The NHS Pay Review Body oversees the High Cost Area Supplement System (HCAS), which is meant to award higher pay to NHS staff in areas of the country where it is more expensive to live.

However, under the current regime, NHS staff in Cambridge - for example those working at Addenbrooke's Hospital - are paid less than staff in many areas of country where living costs are cheaper.

Mr Browne met with the Secretary of State for Health, health department officials, health ministers, hospital executives and unions, as well as submitting parliamentary questions on the subject and a formal question to the Prime Minister during Prime Minister's Question Time.

The NHS Pay Review Body has now accepted the need to change, saying that the current pay regime is "outdated" and "needs updating".

Mr Browne said: "It's patently unfair that, as the whole country is gripped by the cost-of-living crisis, our health workers in Cambridge and South Cambs will struggle more than colleagues almost anywhere else.

"The brutal fact is that the cost of living is higher in Cambridge and South Cambridge than many other areas getting these high cost of living payments. 

"It is manifestly unfair on NHS workers and will directly impact on patient care if it is not addressed quickly."

Data gathered by Mr Browne shows that under the HCAS system, an NHS worker in Basildon or Surrey Heath will get five per cent more in salary but spend an average 14 per cent less on rent for a flat than a worker in South Cambs.

Meanwhile NHS staff in Croydon, Sutton, Barking, Redbridge or Bexley pay lower rents than staff in Cambridge but get 10 per cent higher pay. And rents in Gravesham are 25 per cent lower than rents in Cambridge, yet NHS staff are paid five per cent more.

A report by the NHS Pay Review Body concluded "the current HCAS system remains of concern to the Joint Staff Side", agreeing to receive further evidence on HCAS in the new year.