It was certainly not good for organisations that support the NHS when it provides care and where they provide care on behalf of the NHS.
Margins have been tight for a long time and raises in NI almost have a bias that presupposes that all businesses are milking the public sector.
Unfortunately this is going to prove a massive own goal and the current government is going to find that some critical businesses will have to cut their losses with them because contracts are not viable OR they are going to have to raise their costs where families are already subsidising where the public sector is not paying enough.
At this point those who might benefit are non-frontline, background services who can provide support without having to be permanent members of staff – Information Governance/data protection as an example.
It might also help NHS England with its mantra of “making IG simple” which is simple so long as you are not wanting to make shortcuts.