SIR Keir Starmer has admitted his plan to cut waiting lists relies on doctors and nurses volunteering for overtime on lesser pay.
The Labour leader will rely on NHS staff’s goodwill, even though they can earn more carrying out private work.
Keir Starmer’s plan to cut waiting lists relies on doctors and nurses volunteering for overtime on lesser payRex
He says it will let the NHS provide an extra two million ops, scans and appointments in the first year.
But Tory ministers are currently stuck in a pay dispute with junior doctors and consultants, who are demanding a 35 per cent increase to make up for real-terms cuts since 2008.
Labour will pledge £1.1billion to pay staff for evening and weekend overtime rates, with the cash to pay for it coming from scrapping the non-dom tax status.
Sir Keir, in Liverpool for Labour’s annual conference, said doctors would probably earn more privately but would do NHS overtime as “they want to bring down the waiting list as well”.
But Tory MP Paul Bristow said: “Labour’s plan seems to amount to asking doctors nicely to work weekends. If this is all they have, I would suggest some fresh thinking.
“The only way to cut waiting lists is to continue with the Government’s plan and for union bosses to accept the fair deal on the table.”
But the British Medical Association’s Professor Philip Banfield said: “Only once doctors receive restoration of lost relative value will we be in a position to look at the impact that this extra overtime funding may have on waiting lists.”