THE SNP have said Sajid Javid must put boosting NHS pay and funding at the top of his priority list – warning a strong NHS recovery “cannot be achieved on the cheap”.

As the Tory Health Secretary begins his first full day in the job, Dr Philippa Whitford MP said Javid must increase health and social care funding in England to the higher level per head in Scotland, which would deliver £35 billion extra in day-to-day NHS spending by 2023-24 compared to 2019-20, and an extra £4bn for NHS Scotland in Barnett consequentials.

The SNP health spokesperson also called for Javid to match the SNP government’s 4% pay rise for NHS workers in Scotland, describing the 1% offer in England as “an insult” to the incredible work of NHS staff throughout the pandemic.

Frontline health spending in Scotland is currently £136 per person higher than in England (6.3%) and social care funding is £130 per capita higher (43%).

Whitford said: “I congratulate Sajid Javid on his new role.

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“While our political views differ, I hope we can find common ground on the key priorities for health and social care.

“While current efforts in all four nations are focused on tackling the pandemic and rolling out Covid vaccinations, attention is increasingly turning to the recovery too.

“Sajid Javid must ditch the Tory austerity philosophy – and put boosting NHS pay and funding at the top of his priority list.

“A strong recovery for the NHS cannot be achieved on the cheap.

“The Tory Health Secretary must make the case to increase health and social care funding in England to the higher levels per head we have in Scotland under the SNP government.

“That would deliver a multi-billion-pound boost to funding across all four nations – including an extra £35bn for NHS England, and an extra £4bn for Scotland in Barnett

consequentials. This additional funding would help tackle the healthcare backlog created by the pandemic, through investment in additional NHS staff, along with improved infrastructure and services, to deliver a stronger future for health and social care in all four nations.

“At the start of the pandemic, all parties were clear that we must honour the heroes in our NHS and care sector who have been working tirelessly to defeat coronavirus.

“In Scotland, we’re keeping that promise by delivering a 4% pay rise for NHS workers along with the £500 ‘Thank You’ payment for all healthcare staff.”