The Minister for Health and Care, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, says she was pleased to attend the May Day yesterday organised by Unite the Union at Campion Park, and has responded to comments made by a Unite Health spokesperson during their speech at the rally. 

Minister Arias-Vasquez said she enjoyed the annual event organised by Unite the Union, however, she added that she felt it was important to address several comments made on Health. 

A statement continued: “A Unite spokesperson stated that the GHA is overstretched, understaffed and unsafe. These claims do not reflect the reality, the workforce complement or the current trajectory of the GHA. The GHA Director General has already requested that all Clinical Nurse Managers conduct a detailed ward by ward staffing review to assess whether and where additional support may be required and is awaiting the outcome of this work. Unite is fully aware of this. An update was requested by the GHA Director General last week and the Clinical Nurse Managers requested an extension until the end of May. Additionally, and importantly, as part of the 2024/2025 Budget Round, every single nursing post that was requested by GHA management was approved and funded by the Government. 

“Minister Arias-Vasquez has repeatedly reiterated her willingness to engage with Unite. Numerous meetings have already taken place with Unite the Union and many of these have been with the Health spokesperson personally. Minister Arias-Vasquez and her team across the GHA remain fully committed to maintaining an open-door approach with the Unions. 

“In response to Unite’s call for HR policies and procedures to be applied consistently, the Minister confirmed that this is precisely why she made the decision for the Director of Personnel and Development, Mr Nicholas Richardson, to also assume the role of GHA Director of Workforce. As announced at the time, this strategic decision was taken to align the GHA’s workforce management with the high standards of the wider public service and to ensure consistency, transparency and fairness across all HR matters. 

“The Minister has also confirmed that the GHA has recently recruited 30 additional administrative staff to support clinical services and to ensure that, in so far as possible, our doctors time is not, unnecessarily, taken up with conducting basic admin tasks. 

“Additionally, since 2011 the GSLP/Liberal Government has significantly expanded the health and care workforce and more than doubled the amount of taxpayer’s money invested in the GHA. In 2011/2012, the total recurrent health and care expenditure stood at just over £96 million. In 2024/2025, that figure stands at £210.7 million.” 

The Minister for Health and Care, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said: “It was a real pleasure to attend the rally yesterday and to show my support for workers and the trade union movement, whose role in defending and enhancing workers’ rights is an important one. However, I felt it was necessary to address the some of the remarks made about the GHA. I want to make absolutely clear that I am always willing to engage with Unite and to listen to the concerns of our professionals at the GHA. But I must also be clear that this is exactly what I am doing. We are investing more than ever before in our GHA, our staff and our patients. The appointment of the Government’s Director of Personnel and Development as the GHA Director of Workforce was a deliberate decision I took to ensure fairness and consistency in HR processes across the organisation. That is why I was surprised to see Unite calling for consistency in HR practices yesterday at the rally. Although I am sure that Unite already knows this, I would like to take this opportunity to repeat my open door policy and willingness to meet with the Union as when they deem fit, in the interest of their members and our workforce.”