To Think That Nurses Shouldn't HAVE To Go On Strike

[TheShellBeach]

They should have had a decent pay rise without having to resort to strike action.
Successive governments have relied on nurses' goodwill and reluctance to strike.

They worked so hard throughout the pandemic. They worked hard before it.

They're still working hard. It's a kick in the teeth to make them choose between putting patient safety at risk and getting a living wage.

I signed this petition the other day, but it's clearly either not getting enough publicity, or more of the saucepan bangers than I care to think about, can't be bothered to support our nurses. So can I suggest that everyone who reads this post not only signs the petition, but also adds it to their social media pages. Come on Mums, let;s show our support, our nurses need it, and more to the point, we need them!!

Oh and to those NHS workers who have joined in this post, thank you for all you do!

Yep and PFI, which we’re still paying for in the billions, won’t be an option for next Labour gov

I don't support striking by medical professionals BUT I do support them having a fair pay and decent working conditions. It shouldn't get to this point where it's the patients that suffer as a result of strike action - and it will be the patients, the government doesn't care.

I've left clinical practice and work non clinically now. It's absolutely not worth it anymore.
The conditions are unsafe and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Students are being downtrodden before they've even qualified with 60k worth of debt and having to work alongside the degree because placement 'is not working' for the purpose of tax free childcare and 30 free hours.
Definitely not being unreasonable especially when the high paying jobs in the nhs aren't actually the ones who are working operationally and seeing the state of affairs this is causing.

If (when) I get ill I want nurses who will have the time to look after me and want to be there because they are treated well. I'd happily pay more tax for that. They deserve the rise.

This government only care about bankers and their friends and have given up even trying to hide it.

There has been a scaling back of what is 'covered', I hope we don't reach the point where we just withdraw care at an arbitrary age or whatever though (albeit I do think some surgeries are not actually beneficial for the person, for example and should be discussions around that).

Raising pay won't sort all of the issues, no, but it will improve staff retention which is the root of a lot of the issues.

Paying fair wages for staff isn't just throwing money into the NHS.

There are pfis outside of healthcare also and not all were labour's baby's although it gets wheeled out every time. The data I've seen actually says differently regarding funding, but in any case treatments are more expensive than they once were as is equipment. Anyone that's worked within the nhs or used it over the years regularly can clearly see how deep the cuts to services are, and this is down to funding.

Reform is needed, not sure how that relates to paying sub standard wages to staff though who are battling the system on the daily.

There’s not really any other option but to strike. I’m a district nurse. I’ve been asked today whether I might volunteer to not strike on at least one of the strike days, so we are able to go to our diabetic patients and patients on a syringe driver. They’ve put us in such a difficult situation. I will be striking on Thursday. There are colleagues who aren’t with RCN so we should have enough who can work for essential patients. In the community we are dealing with many complicated patients who require a lot of social input, as well as nursing care. We travel from call to call to call, we go into some difficult environments. We are worn out. I feel for my colleagues in hospitals..it’s just not safe, not at all. I strike for them. I strike for all of us. We’re trying to protect our patients. The narrative makes it seem like it’s all about the money, when it’s far from it. The government should hang their heads in shame.

The sad thing is though, that patients are already suffering before any strike action because of the conditions, lack of adequate staffing being the main one, and it's got to this point because no one is willing to do anything about it.
Like you say, it should never have got to this point but the government have allowed it to, and without the option to strike, then I fear it would go much further without being addressed - with people leaving instead of striking, losing valuable skills and experience forever, not just for a few days, until there's no nursing services to speak of.

I'm a NHS "frequent flyer". At the moment (and for the last seven months ) I've seen a nurse at my surgery every week. I'm am 100% behind their strike. As I am the paramedics, ambulance drivers, posties, Rmt, assorted civil servants and anyone else who chooses to withdraw their labour.

not only is it their human right to do so , because stopping them striking is akin to making them slaves. , They strike or they leave their profession. Either way the public looses out. But, they face, like all of us do, general inflation of 11%+ and food inflation of 14%+. Why should they accept a pay rise below inflation?

and how can wage rises fuel inflation? Wage rises have, in no way, contributed to the 11%+ current inflation.

Nope, and neither will they have the difficult Major years which means the countries financies are balanced so they can introduce companies pay a decent wage instead and instead introduce a benefit..

The situation is completely different this time, and is extreme short termimisim, a lot of people who believe the MMT economic model of increasing wages doesn't have an effect in inflation is going to memory whole a lot of the next decade.

I support the nurses btw, but it is only a can kicking excecise, anecdotally and ironically my BF who is stiking is complaining about house prices falling without any hint of connection or irony.

Reform is needed, not sure how that relates to paying sub standard wages to staff though who are battling the system on the daily.

'Sub standard wages' is the crux of the issue though, and it can't be treated separately from NHS needing reform, thinking it's a black and white issue where if you pay nurses more will mean more retention/better NHS care and also not have an impact on inflation where in a few years nurses are wanting a new pay rise have an impact on local taxes and governments being accused of 'hollowing out the NHS'

Don't get me wrong something needs to be done, but Rishi will make sure immigration can backfil a lot of jobs, Starmer will not really do anything as he won;t be handed the economy Blair was.

Everyone can see it is just a can kicking excersise, but still support IMO

Agree.

We had a pretty good model for the 20thC but demographics have changed. Real terms spending has gone up. But has anyone said how much more it would take to meet new demands. It’s such a loaded political topic there’s no frank discussion.

I am genuinely interested in other peoples opinions.
It’s only an echo chamber if people with different perspectives don’t participate.

I have offered one in a round about way...

Any reforms should look at health and social care as a whole, and should focus on bed blocking for example. But that would mean that care workers both employed and family members get a decent pay as well, something that’s not likely to happen.

At the moment it’s obvious where the government wants to take the nhs and why it’s been run down and cut to the bone for so long. If it’s private the government can sell to their mates for cushy deals and wipe their hands.

Right wing press will present the strike as pushed by greedy militant unions. It’s breathtaking cynical dishonesty by this government since their 12 years of unnecessary Austerity, with underfunding and pay restraint, have led to this.

NHS staff are burnt out and exhausted, leaving in droves. It’s not safe for patients, while for staff, if anything goes wrong, their registrations are on the line.

They should have had a decent pay rise without having to resort to strike action.

This ^

I'm genuinely embarrassed that we did that clap for the NHS business in lock down.

No one should have to strike really

Well, no. In an ideal world people would receive good pay.

But they don't have to, do they?

They do because their employer isn’t listening.

I support the strikes, all of them tbh.

Im terrified of the NHS state, i don’t trust my family will be treated if ill.

Pay and conditions need to improve to attract and retain staff at all levels.

It shouldn’t take a strike for this to happen but Tories gonna Tory.

In fact, didn’t ex Tories warn us that the NHS wasn’t safe in the hands of these Tories? Yet ppl still voted for them ffs.

look at us now 😢

Fully behind our nurses. The fact that there are junior nurses using food banks to get by is a travesty...

Of course not. The Tories want a private healthcare system - partly their beliefs and partly they and their mates will make a ton of money off it.
NHS is the closest thing we have to a national religion so hard to get rid of.
so they’re starving it - they all go private anyway- if money, resources and skills. Letting it all fall down so they we all start using more and. Ore private services and get used to that.
Then they can privatise it fully - they’re essentially privatising it by stealth.

But the few £100 now we pay privately for scans or routine stuff, or even the ££ we pay for minor operations IS NOT what it will be like when it’s all privatised.
Private Emergency care is enormously expensive, or can be, privately. And once there is no NHS or we have a two tier system for the kids, poor, old people and another for the MIddle classes, wealthy and mostly healthy with work insurance the private companies will charge what they like.

I agree it’s terrifying.