OXFORDSHIRE MPs have today called for a ‘weighting’ for local NHS staff pay as health bosses face an ongoing staffing crisis.

During a commons debate MPs said the local health and social care service were facing a ‘perfect storm’ in recruitment and retention owing to the area’s high house prices and cost of living.

MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla Moran, who had secured the debate, said the increasing number of social care staff who had left their roles to take up jobs in retail at the city’s new Westgate Centre was indicative of the problem.

Ms Moran said more must be done to improve recruitment of psychiatrists, nurses and social care workers across the area.

The Lib Dem MP also said an increase in staff pay should be considered a ‘housing allowance’ rather than a 'pay weighting'.

“A specific payment for a specific problem,” she said.

The debate was secured after a leaked memo revealed Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust was considering 'rationing' chemotherapy treatment owing to a lack of qualified nursing staff.

All six of the area’s MPs attended the commons and were united in calling for improved pay packages for local NHS staff.

Ms Moran was also critical of the government’s decision to scrap the nursing training bursary with the number of qualified nurses leaving the service now outweighing those entering the profession.

Calls for the one per cent NHS pay cap to removed, as well as re-assurances over recruitment following Brexit as well as a general increase to NHS funding were also made.

However, the ‘prohibitive cost of housing’ was the ‘crux of the issue’, Ms Moran told fellow MPs gathered in Westminster Hall.

Speaking during the debate today Ms Moran said: “The government can and must take a role collaboratively with stake holders to recognise the unique situation and challenges we face in Oxfordshire.
“If we do nothing I believe we risk seeing the rationing of care and treatment and a backlash, quite rightly, from our constituents.”

In response, the Oxfordshire MPs were told by parliamentary under secretary for health, Steve Brine MP that the matter of staff pay was down to the NHS independent pay review body and NHS employers, not the government.

Speaking after the debate, MP for Oxford East, Anneliese Dodds said: “It was disappointing that the minister did not provide any clarity on when the pay cap is to end, nor on proposals for an Oxford housing allowance.

“Nonetheless, it was good to hear Members of Parliament from across the different parties pay tribute to local NHS, and acknowledge the difficulties many are having when their pay and rewards are failing to keep step with the high cost of living in Oxford.”

MP for Banbury, Victoria Prentis, said: “Recruiting and retaining NHS staff in Oxfordshire has been an ongoing issue for many years now.

"The current situation at the Horton’s maternity unit is a daily reminder for us all.

"We need to think outside the box and tackle the problems together, particularly in light of the Care Quality Commission’s recent full system review of the local health system.

"We are in urgent need of a vision for our health service and must keep up the pressure.”

The Department of Health normally offers ‘high cost area supplements (HCAS), similar to ‘London weighting’, paid to all NHS staff working in inner and outer London and ‘fringe’ zones including Oxford, however unions have said in the past this is not enough.

Director of Improvement and Culture at Oxford University Hospitals, John Drew, said: “We are supportive of any measures that make it easier or more affordable for staff to work in the NHS in Oxfordshire. The introduction of pay weighting could be part of the answer to our recruitment and retention challenges but it isn’t the whole answer because this is a complex picture and not unique to Oxford or to the NHS – it won’t be a magic bullet.

“We welcome today’s Westminster Hall debate and the opportunity it gives to shine a light on the challenge of recruiting staff to work in vital life-saving roles in one of the most expensive parts of the country.

“We will continue to take positive action to recruit new staff including recruiting nurses from overseas, working closely with Oxford Brookes University to encourage newly qualified nurses to come and work for us after they graduate, and stressing the benefits of working for us including on-site accommodation for many staff.”