The Frome and Somerton MP writes:

Whenever there's a debate about the NHS, someone's bound to say it's very much like a national religion. And, I think if there's one thing that the last 12 months have shown us, it's that we're rather wise to put our faith in the NHS.

The recommendation of a 1% pay rise for NHS staff last week has caused an outpouring of consternation, so at this point I should say that - like many others - in my view the current circumstances demand more than the Government's recent recommendation. But it's not the whole story. And, looking back, the past year will perhaps be defined by two things: in some sense contradictory but also complementary.

Firstly, the appalling suffering we've witnessed. Both the images of people on ventilators struggling for oxygen, and also the quieter but no less acute suffering of those isolated without family and friends, trying to keep in touch with the threads of friendship and family which were previously part of everyday existence. But the year will also be defined by everyday acts of heroism. No-one will ever forget the heroic role NHS staff have played in first mitigating and then pushing back the ravages of COVID-19.

That's why in my view those extraordinary efforts should be requited with something rather more significant than the recommended 1% pay increase.

As ever though, it's worth looking at the context in which this recommendation was made, and the very specific nature of NHS pay structure. NHS pay (for over a million staff) is already currently growing as part of multi-year pay deals negotiated and agreed with their trade unions. These include a pay rise of over 12% for newly qualified nurses (with their average pay currently hovering somewhere around £34,000) and an increase of pay for junior doctors of around 8%. I'm also pleased to note that nurses, for example, until 2018 also benefited from near-automatic progression through pay bands every year. Since the 2018 pay deal (a 6.5% increase), such progression is now less frequent but more generous. In most cases, spending two years in a role will earn nurses a significant boost.

And as well as top-line pay, it's important to recall that the Government has already invested over half a billion pounds in professional development and staff recruitment, together with providing £30 million for mental health support services for front line staff and a new bursary of £5,000 going to new nursing and midwifery students.

To return to the Government's recommendation last week, we all understand the pressures on the public finances. But, given that the imminent economic re-opening (and consequent spike in national productivity) is, in no small part, thanks to the work of NHS staff, it's crucially important that they share proportionately in its benefits.

In terms of what comes next, the Government's recommendation is non-binding - the actual decision around the scale of the uplift will be determined by an independent review body in May. But nevertheless I've made my dissatisfaction with the Government's 1% recommendation clear to Ministers, and I will continue to push for the sacrifices made by doctors, nurses and support staff to be recompensed adequately.

I think this isn't only important in actual terms, but symbolically too. Those who have sacrificed the most should receive a pay increase that reflects the scale of that altruism. And that's very much what I hope - and expect - to see when the independent review body makes their final determination.