An open letter to Jeremy Hunt
Mr Hunt
Today, I coordinated and took part in a strike after a ballot by the RCM. That's the first time in 133 years, 34 prime ministers, countless recessions and two world wars; Midwives downed their gloves and warm towels to trudge outside with heavy hearts and stand in the rain.
Mr Hunt, if you genuinely believe that the NHS is a place to sit back and relax and get annual pay increases simply for 'years in service' then I challenge you to come and join us at work for a week.
Those annual pay increases actually reflect the fact I'm a different person since I was lucky enough to qualify as a midwife five years ago. I skipped out of university with a diploma in higher education and a professional registration. Under the nurturing wing of experienced colleagues, I was given a small number of patients on every shift to concentrate on.
Every single woman I've cared for in those 5 years has taught me something new. In return, I've worked very hard to ensure that I've gathered as much experience as possible to be the best midwife for them. Five years on, I am educated to a masters standard and I take responsibility for entire wards, perform specialist medical examinations and complex procedures and make life-changing decisions unaided. In turn, I mentor junior staff and students, to inspire them the way I was by my amazing team of colleagues.
Midwives don't complain; we don't complain that we stay later than our paid shift, that we miss our meal breaks, we don't complain that we leave our families on public holidays to care for yours. I have cried with exhaustion after working back to back shifts and compromised my own health because I didn't take toilet breaks during long shifts. Do you know what? I'd do it again a 100 times over because I'd never want to think that a woman or her family went without anything at this, the most special and vulnerable time of their lives.
But the straw that broke the midwives stoicism, is you Mr Hunt. By saying that we are not worth an extra 1% of our wages per year, so that after those longs shifts where we are wrung out from being bowled over by other people's elation, joy, pain and sadness; we can come home safe in the knowledge that we can cover our bills this month.
I'm not going to finish by begging you to throw me bone here, I know there is a deficit and everyone needs to tighten their belts. However, the health service in this country is the backbone of what makes this country great. United, it is the workers that help to keep it strong. Individually, it certainly wasn't their fault that the country got into deficit; so stop stealing from our pockets to line your own. If you have to alter our wages, do it in a way that is legal and fair; we aren't unreasonable, so consult with us. Don't do it in this underhanded fashion where you are trying to break down the incremented system of pay in order to justify your actions. Certainly do not put me down and say I didn't earn my increments and therefore that can pay for my cost of living against inflation, because all of the women's smiling faces told me that I did earn it.