Angry NHS workers boo minister

Health Minister Andy Burnham faced a wall of silence when he stood up to address Unison's health workers' conference in Brighton, with dozens of delegates holding posters which read: "Low pay, no way, NHS here to stay."

Delegates and visitors heckled and booed and there was ironic laughing when he said the NHS was in a "fundamentally strong" position.

Mr Burnham was given a rough ride despite announcing that the Government had decided not to outsource work from the Prescription and Pricing Division, which unions had feared would lead to the loss of up to 2,500 jobs at centres in Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham, Sheffield, Wakefield, Bolton, Liverpool and the West Midlands.

Unison looks set to ballot 450,000 health workers for strikes in protest at the Government's controversial decision to stage a 2.5% pay rise, which will cut the value of the award to 1.9%.

The minister acknowledged the decision had disappointed workers but he said it was taken with the broader interests of the economy in mind.

One delegate told the minister that staff at Whipps Cross Hospital in east London were under intense pressure because hundreds of jobs had been axed to balance the books, saying that the hospital was "on its knees".

Delegate Gary Freeman told him that his job title of Minister for Health Reform was a euphemism for privatisation. "You did not mention the billions of pounds going to the private sector. When are you going to reverse this policy and put the money into services, staff salaries and training?"

Another delegate asked Mr Burnham how the Government justified staging the pay award when health workers were struggling to cope with rising housing and other costs. The minister maintained that the NHS was a better service than when Labour came to power in 1997, although he acknowledged that staff had faced a "difficult time" recently. "We know we have asked a lot of NHS staff in the last 12 to 18 months to get the NHS back to financial balance."

Mr Burnham said the Government's aim in 1997 was to turn around the public perception of the NHS by investing in new buildings, increasing the workforce and cutting waiting lists. "I feel we can say we have gone some way to achieving that. There is not a debate now about whether the NHS can survive - although perhaps there is at the margins. We have put the NHS into a position of strength although I recognise that change is difficult and can put strain on traditional friendships."