HEALTH unions and opposition leaders have ramped up calls for a fair pay rise for NHS staff as figures show that more than 300,000 worked unpaid overtime during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Analysis of NHS staff survey figures released by Labour last night shows that the number of staff working unpaid hours rose by 13,000 last year to 308,563.

It suggests that well over a million hours of unpaid overtime were worked during the pandemic, the party said.