Labour Says It Will Pay Doctors and Nurses to Work Overtime to Cut NHS Waiting Lists

Sir Keir Starmer admitted that NHS staff may earn more in the private sector, but insisted they will be willing to sign up.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer arrives at the Museum of Liverpool to appear on the BBC One current affairs programme, Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool ahead of the start of the Labour Party conference, in Liverpool, England, on Oct. 8, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA

Labour plans to tackle the ever-growing NHS waiting lists by paying doctors and nurses to work overtime, the party said as it kicked off its annual conference in Liverpool.

In a press release published on Sunday, Labour vowed to pump an extra £1.1 billion of overtime pay in a bid to provide “an extra 2 million operations, scans, and appointments in the first year” if it wins in the next general election.