NEWLY appointed Health Secretary Sajid Javid should not insult nurses with a measly 1 per cent pay rise, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said today.

NHS staff were due a pay rise in April; the government recommended that certain NHS staff, including nurses, should receive just a 1 per cent rise, but ministers said they would await the recommendations of the body that reviews pay.

The RCN said feedback from the NHS pay review body is likely to be in Mr Javid’s in-tray along with the union’s demand for a fully funded 12.5 per cent pay increase for nursing staff.