Starmer reacts to our investigation on England’s missing nurses

Paul McNamara: After a ten-month battle, Channel 4 has obtained a vast amount of NHS data. Data which reveals, among many things, a third of neonatal units and a fifth of critical care wards are regularly missing more than 20% of planned nurses. Do those numbers make you concerned for patient safety, and if so, what are you going to do to fix nursing numbers?

Keir Starmer: Well, I think it reinforces what I’ve long believed, which is that we inherited a broken NHS, on its knees. And that’s why it’s so important that we pick up the challenge, including the challenge that you’ve shown visibility on today in this reporting, and rebuild the NHS, get it back on its feet. That’s what we’ve already started on with some important first steps. We said we’d get two million extra NHS appointments, get those waiting lists down. We said we do it the first year of a Labour government. We’ve done it in the first seven months, so I’m really pleased about that.

Last week I abolished NHS England. That was jobs in communications, in policy, in strategy, because I want those jobs on the frontline, measured in doctors and nurses. And so that will help to contribute to the further hole that you’ve identified in the capacity. But we will do this with the staff and take them forward, on this journey of rebuilding with us, working with the staff, not doing it to the staff.

‘It reinforces that we’ve inherited a broken NHS’

PM Keir Starmer reacted to Channel 4 News’ 10-month long investigation that revealed 1 in 3 of England’s hospitals are missing at least 10% of their planned-for nurses across their wards. pic.twitter.com/ck4XFTEjsy

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 20, 2025

Paul McNamara: Channel 4 had to battle for ten months to get these nurse fill rate numbers. Numbers which after the Mid Staffordshire scandal, the then Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, thought were so important for public confidence that he committed to publishing them. Six years ago, the Tories stopped publishing them. You could do it overnight. Would you consider publishing them?

Keir Starmer: Well, I’ll look at all options here. There’s no options off the table. But what I’m focused on is making sure that we get those waiting lists down.

Paul McNamara: One thing that would increase frontline nursing numbers would be bigger salaries. Can nurses expect a pay rise?

Keir Starmer: Obviously last year we settled the disputes. There had been strikes. So instead of nurses and doctors on the picket line, we had them on the frontline, and that’s made a huge difference. We did have a pay settlement last year, which I think most in the NHS thought was fair.

Paul McNamara: Is he giving another one this year?

Keir Starmer: Well, you know, there’s a process that we’re in the middle of going through at the moment. So I won’t get ahead of that. But I was pleased that we’re able to put in place a good pay settlement, a well deserved pay settlement for our doctors and nurses and NHS staff last year.

Watch more here:

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